


Edge of Seventeen

by goodgodwhy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Quest, Slow Burn, Smut in Much Later Chapters, percabeth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:29:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27939719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodgodwhy/pseuds/goodgodwhy
Summary: What if the original Great Prophecy never occurred, and Percy joined Camp Half Blood just as a normal camper? This time he arrives when he's seventeen. Now he and Annabeth meet when they're older, meaning their mutual attraction and teenage hormones play a much larger role in the forming of the friendship.Even if Annabeth is incredibly attracted to the new boy, she isn't going to let him in that easily.Read as these two characters are introduced, form a friendship, go on a quest, save a friend and maybe even fall for each other along the way.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 37
Kudos: 200





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters will be of varying length and I'm not sure how consistently I'll be posting updates, but I'll try my best not to keep anyone waiting for too long.
> 
> I might change the rating to explicit, depending on how much detail I want to go into, but that won't be until later chapters.
> 
> Enjoy!

The warm breeze blew through Annabeth’s blonde curls as was she made her way towards the Big House, having been summoned by Chiron. She kicked at the pebbles with her worn sneakers, wrapped up in thought about her time at camp. Now at 17, she had been at Camp Half-Blood the longest out of anyone, arriving when she was just 7 years old. It still boggled her mind sometimes knowing that she had called this place home for more than 10 years. Thalia had only stayed for a little while before joining the Hunters of Artemis, but she still visited once a year. Then, Luke had left after 6 years, heading off to try for a life in the city. She was happy for him, but it hurt that she never heard from him anymore. She can admit to herself now that she was never really in love with him. She thought she was, for a long time but it was infatuation, just a crush. He meant a lot to her, but he was more like a big brother who looked out for her, more than anything. It was still hard to lose an old friend though, and it just stood to remind her of how many people that she’s cared about that were no longer in her life. Luke and Thalia were both gone, off living their own lives without her. She never saw her real mom, and her dad and his new family just barely put up with her. Now she only really had Piper, Leo and Grover left in her life and she loved them, she really did, but she didn’t let people in easily. It took her months to open up to her friends, and even they didn’t know everything about her. Letting new people in meant that her heart could be hurt, and she wasn’t sure how much more loss and pain she could really take. She was tough and she put up a good front but not a day went by when she didn’t struggle with feelings of abandonment and inadequacy. The sudden sound of voices broke her out of her reverie, and she realized she had almost reached the Big House. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to shake herself out of her admittedly sad thoughts.

She clambered up the steps, and heard Chiron exclaim, “I’ll have Annabeth show you around, ah, there she is.” 

She stepped through the door and she was met with broad shoulders straining against a tight orange camp shirt and soft, black hair curled at the base of a strong neck. The body faced away from her, standing tall, at least a few inches above her, speaking to Chiron in a quiet, deep voice. Her gaze remained trained on him as he spun around to face her. She sucked in a sharp breath, because looking back at her was maybe the hottest boy she had ever seen. No, scratch that, not maybe, definitely, definitely the hottest guy she had ever seen. She had always thought Luke was pretty handsome, the pinnacle of her type, but clearly, she was severely mistaken, because this boy looked nothing like him, but he was absolutely, without a doubt, her type. Luke looked like the boy next door, all sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, whereas as this boy was tall, dark and handsome. He was the type of guy that parents told you to stay away from, full of mirth and mystery, but his face was somehow still open and kind. He was probably around her age. He had a strong, chiseled jaw that looked like it was sculpted out of marble and her hands twitched, longing to trace her fingers delicately along it. Unruly dark locks fell over his mesmerizing green eyes which swirled with curiosity. It was like they held the answers to the universe and Annabeth desperately wanted to know them all. She knew if she kept staring into them, she would get lost, so she trailed her gaze down to his ample lips. That was a mistake because they looked so soft and delicious and damn kissable. Ripping her eyes away, she continued her path down to his body, following along its defined lines. She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth as she gazed at his powerful shoulders, over his sturdy chest, his muscular biceps and his large, veined hands which were tucked into his pant pockets. She stopped her biting, for fear of drawing blood, and finally, painstakingly, managed to lift her eyes back to his face. He must be one of the minor gods, she thought. Maybe he was visiting on behalf of Apollo, an apprentice or something. She would never admit it out loud, but this guy was more attractive than even the handsomest of the gods. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she finally registered the expression on his face. He wore a small smirk on his lips, like he knew what she was thinking about, but his eyes were surprised and confused, like he couldn’t quite understand why those were the thoughts she was having. He teetered between confident and shy, and it was incredibly endearing and sexy, all at once. His expression also seemed to convey something that looked suspiciously like awe as he took her in, but she assumed it was because he was absorbing his new surroundings, and not because of her presence. Her cheeks reddened under his intense stare; she had never handled attention from boys very well, especially ones that were this good-looking. She tried to speak but it came out as a breathy squeak. She cleared her throat and forced her eyes to look over towards Chiron.

“You asked me to come?” she asked him.

The centaur looked back and forth between herself and the boy, who still hadn’t pulled his gaze away from her, with an amused smile. “Yes, I was hoping you would show Percy, here, around camp. He has just arrived,” the centaur requested of her.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly, but she schooled her expression into one of slight distaste. She had learnt long ago that the best way to mask her emotions was to put on a face of indifference or anger. Maybe it’s because they were the ones that she employed the most often. Despite what her appearance might have been suggesting, she was actually freaking out on the inside, because oh gods, she will definitely embarrass herself if she has to spend the day showing him around. Trying her best to ignore the distracting presence of the hot boy beside her, Percy he had been called, she gave Chiron a curt nod and turned on her heel without another word. She heard Percy stumble after her, trying to catch up. His long legs allowed him to quickly fall into step beside her. She kept her gaze trained on the ground as they walked down the camp’s path. She remained silent and so did Percy until they reached the dining pavilion. 

Without looking at him, she stopped and pointed at the structure, “so, uh, this is where we eat, we sit at the tables of our godly parents, but for now you can sit with the Hermes kids, until you’re claimed.” 

She assumed that Chiron had already explained the whole the-Greek-gods-are-real spiel to him. He looked at her inquisitively for another beat before breaking out into a bright lopsided smile, and her stomach flipped at the sight of it.

“I’ve already been claimed actually,” Percy offered.

It took her a minute to take in what he had said because she had been so distracted by hearing his smooth, silky voice address her directly. 

“What?” she asked confused.

He chuckled, and it sounded like music to her ears. “I don’t have to sit with the Hermes kids because I already know who my godly parent is. I’m a son a Poseidon,” he said proudly.

She couldn’t help the annoyance that bled into her tone, she really disliked being confused. “How could you possibly know that? No one ever knows before they get here.”

“Yeah well I guess you could say I had a slightly different upbringing than the typical camper here. My dad, Poseidon, he came to my apartment when I was 12 and told me about camp and said he’d like for me to come here one day but he wanted me to spend as much time with my mom as possible and have a normal life. So, I grew up in New York and went to mortal school, but I knew about Camp Half-Blood and the gods and all that stuff before I ever arrived. Dad gave me a sword, taught me how to fight, harness my powers and how to watch out for monsters. But last week, my brother and I, he’s a cyclops by the way, we were attacked by some empousai and we both got hurt pretty bad, I was passed out for like a whole day. My dad finally thought it was time I came here to be safe in the borders and he took my brother with him to his underwater palace. I’m hoping to visit my mom on the weekends, but I guess I’ll be at camp until I’m old enough that it’s safer out there for me,” Percy rambled.

She stared at him for a moment before speaking, “your brother is a cyclops?”

He cracked a wide, blinding grin, “that’s really what you took from all that?” he asked her.

His beautiful smile was even bigger than the last and it caused two adorable dimples to appear on both sides of his face. She desperately wanted to poke a finger in them or give them each a kiss and feel the warmth of his cheeks beneath her hands. She chewed at her bottom lip to prevent a small, shy smile from escaping her. She would not allow herself to be so easily charmed by Percy. She was a respectable daughter of Athena for gods’ sakes and she wouldn’t just melt into a puddle at the feet of a boy, no matter how fucking cute he was.

“So, Poseidon,” she managed to choke out finally.

“Yeah, how about you, who’s your dad?”

“My dad is professor, but my mother is Athena, the goddess of wisdom,” she said curtly.

Percy’s eyebrows drew together in concern and she huffed further in annoyance because it was really adorable.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume or offend, my mom taught me better than that. Women can obviously do anything men can do. More actually, because they hold the fucking miracle of life in them for nine months. Not that women are only useful for having kids, they can do anything they want. And, you know, we should be able to identify as anything or anyone we want,” he ranted on, losing the point of his original apology.

This time she couldn’t even hold back the smile, and her lips curved up begrudgingly. He grinned shyly in response and breathed a sigh of relief. He had leaned closer to her throughout his speech and it brought along with him, a strong scent of the salty ocean mixed with something sweet like chocolate chips. Her smile fell and she rolled her eyes, those smells shouldn’t even fucking go together, how could they possibly be this intoxicating. It took everything in her not to inhale. From this close she could see the freckles that peppered his nose, and his eyes were somehow even more hypnotizing at this angle. Her throat went dry and she forced herself to take a shaky step back. She scowled at him in hopes of masking her reddening face which seemed to make him realize how close he had gotten, and he staggered away.

“Sorry,” he mumbled embarrassed. 

He looked so tentative and sweet, and it just continued to annoy her. What happened to her strong will? She had plans, she had ambitions, she wasn’t like the Aphrodite girls that just fell for whatever newest attractive boy came into camp. Gods, she was dreading the moment news broke about Percy. He would be all the campers could talk about for weeks to come, and it would be impossible to escape him. Why was she being so affected by him?

“Let’s just keep going, there’s a lot more I have to show you,” she grumbled.

He straightened up and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck nervously, “did uh, did I say something wrong?” he asked nervously. Gods, he needed to stop being so freaking irresistible. 

“No, it’s fine, come on,” she snapped and grabbed his hand to yank him along. His palm felt so soft and comforting in hers, even with the worn callouses that marked his skin. She yanked her arm back like he had burned her and chose instead to spin on her heel and speed towards the stables next. He followed behind her dutifully without a word, as she gradually introduced him to all of the main buildings around camp. They finally slowed after about an hour to show him where he would be sleeping, and she pointed first towards Cabin 5.

“So, this is where the spawn of Ares resides. Other than maybe your dad, they’re my mom’s greatest enemy, so the Athena kids usually end up competing against them in capture the flag. Since you’re the only Poseidon camper, you can decide which team you want to be on,” she told him.

A laugh escaped him, and it sent butterflies flittering through her stomach. “Spawn?” he questioned with a smirk which looked entirely too good. She let out an exasperated huff and shot him a glare. This just made him smile even wider, like her frustration and aggression had begun to amuse him just a little too much.

“So what team are you on?” he asked.

“Athena’s usually blue,” she responded.

“Well I’d like to join you guys then,” he said with a generous smile.

She tried to ignore the spark that was sent through her. Annabeth turned on him abruptly once again and led him to Cabin 3 next. 

“This is where you’ll live, you get the whole place to yourself,” she told him.

His lip stuck out in a pout, and she wanted to kiss him so badly that she had to look away. “I’m alone?” he questioned, disappointed. “I thought that I’d have a bunch of cabin mates, I was really looking forward to meeting other people.”

She wanted nothing more than hold him and make him feel better, but she reasoned that might a bit too extreme, for having only known him for half a day. Instead she offered, “well, you’ll take part in training and games throughout the day, so you’ll only really be alone for meals and sleeping.”

He perked up at that, “will I see you during the day and stuff?” he asked hopefully.

She tried not to blush at his words, but she knew she was failing miserably. She didn’t want to read too much into what he had said, he was probably just clinging to a familiar face in an unfamiliar place, but a part of her craved to think that he was a little intrigued by her too.

“I’ll be around, I’m not sure we’ll have the same schedule, but you’ll probably see me every once in a while,” she answered, trying to sound nonchalant. 

He frowned a little, his disappointment returning, but he gave her a soft smile, nonetheless. “Okay good, I don’t know a lot of people here, so…” he trailed off.

She tried not to show it, but a flicker of hurt passed over her stony face. She had guessed right, he just wanted someone around that he knew. 

She cleared her throat, “yup, well, I have archery in like ten minutes, so I’ll leave you here, but I’m sure I’ll see you again,” she offered quietly. 

Part of her wanted to extend this for as long as possible, if it meant that she could continue to sneak glances at his beautiful face, but the other part of her wanted to flee as soon as possible. She really didn’t like the feelings that he stirred in her. She would not let herself fall for the first cute boy that spoke to her for all of a couple hours. His face fell even further, and he looked like an adorable puppy as he pouted. His eyes held so much openness and feeling that she had to stare at his forehead so she wouldn’t immediately fall prey to his pleading and do anything and everything he asked. 

“Oh okay,” he said sadly. “Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

All she could do is nod as a goodbye, before spinning around and practically sprinting down to the archery field. She had almost made it, before the urge to look back finally got the best of her and she turned her head slightly. Percy still stood in the same place, staring back at her with a soft, beautiful smile on his lips. He waved excitedly at her when he noticed her looking, and her cheeks warmed at the sight, so she averted her eyes quickly. She couldn’t help but think that he was bursting with goodness, too much goodness, and she was in a lot of trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth admits some things, and she and Percy are forced to spend a little more time together.

Annabeth ran down to the archery field, where she had planned to meet Piper and when she spotted her friend, she gave her a tight smile.

Piper cocked her head with a confused smile, “you okay?” she questioned.

Annabeth nodded and picked up a bow, “mhm.”

“Seriously what’s up?” her friend asked.

“Nothing,” she responded breezily.

“Okayyy,” Piper drew out. “You’re being weird. Anyway, have you seen the new guy? I heard rumours going around that he is like stupid hot. Like maybe even hotter than Luke.”

Annabeth spun to face her, “how does everyone already know that?” she asked incredulously.

Piper’s eyebrows shot up, “oh so it’s true, you think he’s hot?”

“What? No, that’s not what I’m saying, I just don’t know how everyone already knows about him, he only got here a couple hours ago,” Annabeth denied.

“Yeah sure okay, like I believe that,” Piper said sarcastically. “So?”

“So, what?” she asked back.

“Is he hotter than Luke? Cause blondie has sort of been the staple of attractiveness at camp for a while and we need some new meat,” Piper explained.

Annabeth glared at her to cover up her reddening cheeks, “I just showed him around camp a little, I didn’t really notice,” she lied.

Piper pointed at her accusingly, with excited eyes, “oh my gods, you totally thought he was hot! Describe immediately,” she demanded.

They heard a voice from behind them, “talking about me ladies?” Leo asked, as he threw an arm over each of their shoulders.

Both girls rolled their eyes and shoved him off. “You wish, Bad Boy Supreme, we’re talking about the new guy,” Piper told him.

“Percy,” Annabeth added, before snapping her mouth shut. Piper smirked at her knowingly. 

“Oh yeah, I just talked to him on my way down, he was a cool guy, super nice. And to answer your question Pipes, I would say objectively, probably the hottest guy I’ve ever seen,” Leo responded.

Piper’s eyes widened and she gave a clap, “oooh yay! Okay but here’s a real thinker. Is he hotter than Luke?” she asked him, while keeping her gaze trained on Annabeth.

Leo tapped his chin like he was really giving it some thought, “oh yeah definitely. I love my boy Luke, but he doesn’t compete with Percy. Luke looks like the boy next door but is secretly kind of conniving, but new boy is mysterious and sexy but actually has a heart of gold. A much better combo, if you ask me,” Leo claimed.

Annabeth felt like she should defend her childhood friend, but she couldn’t totally disagree. Luke had always a bit of a dark side to him, one that she could understand due to his upbringing but couldn’t fully agree with.

Piper grinned, “descriptive, thank you my friend, this is very helpful information.” She turned to face Annabeth fully, “so babe, do you agree with this assessment?”

Annabeth looked down but she knew her face betrayed her thoughts, “aha you totally do. Man, this guy must something,” Piper exclaimed.

“He looked fine, I guess,” Annabeth conceded quietly.

Piper stared at her happily, it wasn’t often that she admitted to things like this. In fact, she’s not sure she’s ever talked about boys with her friends before, she usually had more important things to focus on.

“So, what’s he like?” Piper questioned them both.

Leo went first, “like I said, seems like a nice guy, he said he’s a son of Poseidon so he must be pretty powerful.”

“Oh that is hot,” Piper admitted. “What else, I wanna hear all the good stuff, we never have any juicy gossip around here.” 

Annabeth stayed silent until her friend nudged her foot, so with a roll of her eyes, she said, “I don’t know, he seemed really sweet like Leo said.”

Piper nodded and blinked. “Come on, you can do better than that, this boy is making you blush up a storm.”

That made Annabeth’s cheeks warm even more, and she punched her friend lightly on the shoulder in response, “shut up!” she said with a smile.

When Piper and Leo just kept staring expectantly, she sighed and gave in, “okay fine. He was really nice, like sort of too nice, but he also joked around and smirked, so it was this confusing mix of shy and confident which is really hot,” she paused, and her eyes widened, having realized what she just said. “um I mean, it was interesting I guess,” she continued quickly, hoping her friends didn’t catch her blunder, “and then I just showed him around, and we asked each other some questions and that was about it.”

Piper and Leo burst out laughing, “oh my gods, that was painful to witness,” Piper gasped between fits of giggling. “Don’t think I missed the part where you called him hot. You totally like this guy,” she accused.

“What! No, I don’t, I literally met him today” Annabeth defended.

“But you do think he’s sexyyy,” Leo sing-songed mockingly.

This time when Annabeth threw a punch, it wasn’t light or playful.

“Oww,” Leo yowled and rubbed his shoulder.

“Serves you right,” Annabeth huffed.

Piper’s eyes glittered happily, “I can just tell that this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship; I can feel it in my Aphrodite bones.”

Annabeth shoved her, “shut up,” she said again, but she laughed along, nonetheless.

Despite her friends’ teasing, they had no idea how right they were. Annabeth thought Percy was literally the most perfect looking person she’d ever seen, and although they’d only talked for a little while, she could tell he was a good guy. If she wasn’t careful, he was just the type of person to derail her life entirely. If Leo and Piper wanted to befriend him, she couldn’t stop them, but she would be avoiding him for the time being. You can’t fall for someone if you never see them, she decided. It was a very logical plan, and not at all desperate in any way. Not at all.

___________________________________________________________________________

Chiron would be the death of her someday. She was convinced he was out to get her. He always claimed that he had her best interests at heart but clearly that was not the case with the shit he just pulled. That fucking horse had the audacity to ask her to start tutoring Percy today, until he was caught up on all the lessons. One week. One week was how long she had managed to avoid the hot new boy, aside from some secretive glances on her part, and a few big generous smiles from him that made her melt a little inside, each time. As she suspected, he was all anyone could talk about, so avoiding him was not an easy task. Half of the campers were trying to befriend him, wanting to know more about his interesting upbringing, and the other half just thought he was incredibly beautiful and wanted to get into his pants. She had stayed away from all that, and now she would have to see him every day, in close proximity, one on one. Out of everyone Chiron could have chosen, he insisted that she do it. More than 80 campers, most of whom would happily volunteer for the job and he was convinced she was the only option. Needless to say, Annabeth was fuming as she stomped down the hill towards the strawberry fields, where she was supposed to meet Percy. Her stride faltered for a moment when she spotted him sitting in the long grass. He looked like a model, posing for some candid shots. He was so effortlessly gorgeous that it made her upset, no one should be allowed to look that good. She continued her way down to him, picking up the pace with each step, like he was a magnet, drawing her to him. She was frustrated with the situation and angry at her own treacherous thoughts, which caused her to stop right in front with a big huff and hands set aggressively on her hips. She probably looked like a condescending teacher, which technically now, she was. As she stared directly into his face, something tightened in her gut, but she smoothed out her features hoping to convey an air of indifference and not one of extreme attraction. He looked a little afraid, but he also seemed like he was happy to see her. He had on a shy smile, one that she especially loved. She plopped down across from him and pulled out her books.

“Let’s get started shall we,” she said, trying to sound professional and uninterested.

He looked a little disappointed that she didn’t return his smile, which made her feel bad, but he nodded respectfully and set his notebook on his lap. He hovered his pencil over the paper and looked back up at her expectantly. 

“Where shall we start?” he asked with a small smirk, mocking her phrasing.

A smile tugged at her lips, but she forced it down. “Um… how about we start with Greek. You can probably understand a lot of it because our brains are hardwired for it, but you also have to learn the specific rules and conjugations that go with it,” she decided.

He looked a little bit like he might throw up, but he just smiled encouragingly, so she launched into a lengthy explanation. This she could do. She loved to teach and rant about anything and everything. She felt comfortable when she was educating, no matter who she was instructing, or how distracting they might be. Percy began scribbling furiously, following her every word, and it felt good to have someone really listen to her, even if he didn’t really have a choice. After about an hour though she noticed that his pencil had stopped moving, and he was just staring at her with a soft smile and sparkling eyes. She finally stopped talking and looked at him confused.

“What? What is it? What are you looking at?” she questioned him.

He shook his head like he was pulling himself out of a daze and a soft blush dusted his cheeks. Gods he looked so fucking cute like this, she just wanted to hug him or even better, trail her lips along his. 

“I’m really sorry, with the ADHD it gets hard to focus on the same thing for a long time,” he apologized.

She nodded; she couldn’t really be upset with him because all demigods dealt with the same problem.

“Okay, do you want to try a different subject?” she suggested.

“No!” he nearly shouted. He quieted, “sorry I just, I think I need a break. Why don’t you tell me about yourself for a bit, and then we can get back into it?”

She hesitated. Telling Percy about her personal life didn’t really fall into to the whole staying-away-from-him-and-remaining-impersonal thing that she was trying to stick to.

He noticed her delay, “I’ve already told you about my dad, my mom and my brother, growing up in New York, and all that.”

“There’s nothing really to say, I’ve been here forever,” she said simply.

“That’s bullshit, come on, I don’t know anything about you, tell me about your life. Pleaseeee,” he begged with those puppy-dog eyes and pouty lips, and she caved immediately.

She huffed for good measure, so he didn’t think he was getting what he wanted too easily, but she began to tell him about her life story, nonetheless, starting from the very beginning. He flipped onto his stomach and propped his chin on his hand, staring intently at her, looking so damn cute. She felt his gaze on her like a physical presence causing her to tingle all over, which made it hard to stay focused. He asked questions when appropriate and remained silent during the more serious moments. All in all, he was an attentive listener and it felt good to reveal a part of herself to him. When she finished retelling him how she had arrived at Camp Half Blood, she launched right into explaining her love of architecture. She lost track of time, because she could talk about her favorite buildings and sculptures all day long, but when she finally stopped, she realized she had been ranting nonstop for almost two hours and Percy hadn’t interrupted even once. He wasn’t even fidgeting or gazing off into the distance, his eyes were still firmly planted on her face, taking in her every word and it made her blush. He had just been telling her how he couldn’t focus for more than an hour at a time, but yet he had just listened to her ramble about herself that whole time, and he hadn’t had any issues. She tried not to take it to heart, but it made her all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and chuckled softly. 

“Sorry, I went off on a bit of tangent there. I always get wrapped up in talking about this stuff. We were supposed to be studying and I just talked about myself and wasted all our time,” she apologized uncomfortably. 

She fidgeted with her shoelaces, refusing to look him in the eyes as she awaited his response. She could see him sit up quickly into a cross legged position in her peripherals.

“Oh gods, don’t be sorry, it’s interesting and I asked you to tell me. That was an amazing story by the way. I’m sorry you had to go through all that but man you were so fucking brave. I mean, you were living on the streets for weeks and then taking on a giant all by yourself as a 7-year-old kid, that’s insane!” he exclaimed with a wide smile.

She looked up at him and couldn’t help the small grin that spread across her face. Her cheeks warmed and she muttered quietly, “thanks.” She cleared her throat and sat up straighter, trying to regain some sense of control, “so tomorrow we should actually get some more studying done. We can continue our lesson on Greek and start discussing constellations as well,” she stated firmly.

“Oh, we’re done already?” he asked, surprised. “That went by quickly, I’m used to school feeling like an eternity.”

She grinned again, man, what was this boy doing to her? She never smiled this much, even with her closest friends. “Well Greek is pretty interesting,” she responded.

“I just think you’re a much better teacher than most,” he said with a smirk.

Gods, she wanted to wipe that stupid smile right off his handsome face, preferably with her own lips. She wanted to shove him into the long grass and lean over him, eliminating the space between their bodies entirely. She just wanted him in any way, in every way. 

She cocked a brow at him, “oh really? I must be younger than most of the teachers you’ve had, maybe that’s why you can relate more.”

He nodded, “much prettier too,” he added. 

Suddenly, he froze, his easy-going expression melting into one of shock and embarrassment. His face turned a bright shade of red and personally she thought it looked really fucking good on him. Her own eyes widened, and the blush that seemed to have settled permanently on her cheeks whenever she was around him, deepened even more. Did he really think she was pretty? She knew she was conventional attractive in a general sense, but she had never really thought of herself as overly pretty. She’d seen the Aphrodite girls and the effortless beauty they held, like Piper, and she looked nothing like them. Most people would describe her as scary and angry.

“Sorry, um, I just mean, I’ve had a lot of old ladies as my teachers, I’m pretty sure one of them was even a Fury, so you know…” he trailed off, unsure of how to continue and looking incredibly flustered.

She inclined her head and they both stood up mutely. They packed up their things hastily, placing them back into their bags while trying to avoid eye contact. 

Finally, she turned back to him, “um okay, I have sword fighting now, so we can meet at the same time and place for tutoring tomorrow?”

“Yup,” he responded quickly and turned on his heel, fleeing towards the cabins. She’d never seen him look so affected and uncomfortable, and it should’ve made him less attractive, but it did the exact opposite. She chewed on her lip, unable to pull her eyes away from his retreating form. This was seriously becoming embarrassing, she needed to get a grip on herself. She would stick strictly to the lesson plan. No more sharing life stories, no more ranting about her favorite interests, she would get in and get out, as simple as that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably one of the longer chapters, hope you enjoy.

They met each day and her plan to remain detached and professional was failing miserably. They would always start with the lesson, but it would get quickly derailed when he asked her a leading question which she couldn’t help but answer and then she would get caught up, and then suddenly three hours had passed. At the end of each session, she would chastise him for distracting her and insist that next time they would stick to the tutoring. He would just nod dutifully and agree, but then when the next day came, and they would fall into the same routine. They never really saw each other much outside of their mid-day meetings, because he had a different schedule than her, since he was still trying to catch up on the training that he had missed during all his years spent away from camp. Their tutoring sessions felt like something special, meant only for the two of them. Like a secret they shared together. It was after about a month of this that she realized just how absolutely fucked she was. It finally dawned on her just how much she liked this boy, and it scared the shit out of her. She likes plans, she likes control, and she likes to make decision based on careful consideration not on feelings, but Percy took those things away from her. When she was around him, she felt off quilter, scared, nervous and disoriented. None of those were sensations that she enjoyed.

She had been especially distracted that day because Percy had been chewing on his pencil, trying to concentrate, and it pulled down his soft bottom lip in the most tantalizing way. She didn’t even notice that she was staring, she just couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She had never wished she was a pencil so badly in her life. And then on top of that, his eyebrows scrunched together in the most adorable way that made her wish she could smooth her thumb over his forehead. So, all in all, it wasn’t her best or most focused day. When he successfully answered five questions correctly in a row, she allowed him a short break. As always, he inquired about her life, and this time he chose to ask about her dream vacation destination.

She started, “I definitely want to visit Greece the most. It’s the birthplace of so much of our demigod history and culture. And I’ve always wanted to visit the…”

Percy cut in, “the Parthenon, yeah I remember you telling me that. It’s dedicated to your mom, right?” 

She stared at him in surprised, “um, yeah that’s right.”

“I read that they started building it in like 450 BC or something. That literally doesn’t even seem like a real time, it’s insane,” he added as she continued to gaze at him in a daze.

“447 BC actually,” she corrected without even thinking about it.

Her comment just made him smile brightly and her heart melted when she saw it.

“How did you know that?” she questioned. She hadn’t assigned him any reading on Greece or the Parthenon.

He looked down embarrassed, “Oh, uh, well you were raving about it so much so I thought I would see what the big deal was,” he admitted shyly.

Her mouth dropped open ever so slightly as she took in his words. She forgot sometimes that he was actually listening to her. He wasn’t just asking her questions to be polite; he was taking in the information she told him and absorbing it. She didn’t know if he found it interesting, but he cared enough to remember it, and even do additional research on it. She had quickly learnt that he despised studying, it didn’t come easily to him like it did for her. Especially with their dyslexia, reading about the Parthenon probably took him hours. She didn’t know how to respond. It made her chest warm and she wanted to hug him, but it also felt dangerous. He had already broken down so many of her carefully constructed walls and she didn’t like letting people in so easily. Opening up to someone just gave them open access to play with your heart. She couldn’t handle any more heartache and Percy wasn’t the type of guy who would just break her heart, he would completely decimate her. If she really let herself fall for him, it would be like she was asking for her own inevitable suffering. The problem was that he was so damn irresistible, so it made it hard to stay away. It hurt to be with him, but she hated not being with him at the same time.

She cleared her throat and chose to change the subject because it was just all too much. He was too much. It was like a sensory overload when she was around him.

“So, we’re finally on competing teams in capture the flag tonight. Are you ready to get your ass handed to you?” she said.

“You wish Chase,” he responded good-naturedly. “I’m surprised we still haven’t run into each other on the field, but I guess we’ve been stuck on opposite sides of the woods. Do you always play defense? They’ve been sticking me on offence for the most part,” Percy responded.

“It’s not my favorite position, but with my invisibility cap, I’m good as a last defense,” she explained.

“You can turn invisible?!” he exclaimed.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that, now you know my team’s strategy,” she said with a light chuckle.

He smiled wider, “well no wonder I haven’t seen you during the games, I literally couldn’t see you,” he said with a laugh that could’ve lifted her off her toes. “You have a hat that turns you transparent?” he asked in amazement.

“It was a gift from my mom. I think she was trying to make up for the fact that I never see her. I would rather have her in my life, but this is a pretty good consolation. It’s come quite in handy,”

“Yeah I would guess so,” he said, a smile still resting on his lips.

They went back and forth so effortlessly, sometimes it felt like they had known each other for years, not just a month and a half.

“And, I guess I’ll finally see how well Poseidon has trained you,” she said.

She was genuinely curious to see how Percy would measure up to the rest of the campers. Her eyes couldn’t help but trail down his strong arms, he was obviously well built and being the son of Poseidon, he would be powerful no matter what. But, most of the kids here had years of training with the best of the best, and that was something Percy did not have. It would be difficult to keep up. 

The conch shell sounded in the distance, signalling that it was time for dinner before the games began. They both stood and started packing up their things.

“Alrighty, I’ll see you out there. Fully ready to have my ass handed to me,” he said with a smirk. 

It was the perfect combination of sweet and sarcastic, and she just rolled her eyes as a response because the other option was to jump his bones and that felt a little dramatic.

____________________________________________________________________

Annabeth swayed side to side nervously, as she listened to the blue team strategize for capture the flag. Often, she was the group leader, but she tried to give other people a chance to plan as well, however she always worried when putting the decisions into other people’s hands. She didn’t concede control very easily. She was also on edge about potentially seeing Percy and maybe just a little curious. She would have to see him in the full armor, which could even make the Stoll brothers look heroic, so she couldn’t even imagine what it would do for Percy. It would accentuate all of the best parts of him. His biceps would pop, his chest would look even more solid and powerful and his dazzling green eyes would probably reflect beautifully off the shiny breast plate. Gods it would be a nightmare. She bit at her nails as the captain called break. 

“Alright everyone into positions. Annabeth make use of that invisibility cap wherever it’s needed most and defend that flag” she nodded resolutely in response.

The game flew by in a blur, Annabeth did just as she was asked, appearing out of thin air and taking out any opponents that ever got too close to their flag. She was in the middle of a battle with an Ares camper, when she finally spotted that matt of black, unruly hair. Her breath hitched and she was almost sliced in two by her opponent’s sword. If she didn’t have years of practice and instinct, she would’ve been toast. Even though it seemed entirely impossible, Percy looked even better than usual. He had a fierce look in his eye, his ruffled locks flew in the wind, and sweat dripped down his face. All in all, it was something that really shouldn’t be nearly as alluring as it was, but it made her stomach clench with desire. She wanted to drop her sword right there, pull him into a secluded part of the words and shove him against a tree so she could lick the salty moisture from his neck. She’d never really thought she would have been into that, but apparently with Percy, she was. As she suspected, the armor looked amazing on him, but she had underestimated its effect. He looked downright sinful as he sprinted by her. 

He buckled for a moment and almost toppled when his eyes locked on hers, but he righted himself, gave her a quick smile and kept going. She would have stepped in his way to confront him, but she was currently incapacitated by a sword swinging towards her face. She was still slightly dazed and disoriented by Percy’s sudden appearance, but she growled as the blade flew over her head and lodged into the tree behind her. She shoved the camper back and saw from the corner of her eye that Percy had made it to the flag and was already sprinting back towards her. Annabeth was supposed to be her team’s last defense so she may be their only chance of stopping him. She stomped on the foot of the Ares camper, and brought an elbow into their nose. They yelped in pain, falling down hard onto their butt. Percy was already a few yards passed her, so she frantically shoved her invisibility hat down over her blonde curls and raced after him. He was quick and nimble, and it was only because Annabeth knew the woods so well, that she was able to keep up with him. He flew by battling campers, and towards the rushing creek. Instead of slowing him down, the water seemed to shoot him forward even faster. She had no choice but to follow, and she splashed loudly through the rushing water. She prayed that he was too focused on getting the flag back to his team’s borders to notice that an invisible person was racing after him. From the corner of her eye, she noticed one of her Athena siblings hiding behind a tree ahead of them and preparing to surprise Percy. Even though they were on opposing teams, she was strongly tempted to warn him of the sneak attack. Before she could do anything, the son of Poseidon paused momentarily and thrust a hand back towards the creek. She watched as an intense look of concentration took over his face, and then with a yell, he flung his arm towards the unsuspecting Athena camper. A wall of water came hurtling passed her, and hit her sibling squarely in their chest, like a rocket. They flew back and landed in a soft marsh behind them. They were dazed and incapacitated enough that they wouldn’t follow but sustained no injuries. Percy took off running once again, but Annabeth struggled to get her own legs moving. She stood there, stunned and amazed at what he had just done. She had never seen anyone do anything like that. She had never seen a demigod with powers like that. Less importantly, but still worth noting, it was also fucking sexy as hell to watch. 

Witnessing his feat of raw strength did nothing but heighten her carnal thoughts about him. She desperately wanted to know what it felt like to have his powerful body pushed up against her; or have him pushed inside her. She slammed her eyes shut, no, no, no, she could not think like that. She would not lose focus. This is why he was so dangerous. Just by existing, Percy had her distracted. He could completely derail her life, her plans, her future.

Almost without realizing what she was doing it, her legs began moving after him again, acting on their own accord. They both sprinted through the woods for a full minute and she had almost caught him, when she stopped dead in her tracks once again to stare at the scene in front of her. Percy clearly didn’t know that she had been following because he had slowed down completely and now kneeled in front of a young boy, probably no older than 9 or 10. She recognized him as the new Hermes camper, who had just arrived last week. She stepped closer quietly so she could listen in. She gazed on in shock as Percy handed the flag over and ruffled the young boy’s hair.

“Here you go buddy, I need your help getting this to back to our borders,” Percy spoke softly.

The boy’s eyes widened comically, “what? you’re faster, you should do it,” he insisted in a small voice, passing the flag back.

Percy shook his head with a generous smile on his lips, “I can’t do it, I’m too tired, but it’s just another few hundred feet and you’ll be the whole team’s hero. I think you’re the only one who can do it, big guy.”

The young boy’s chest swelled with pride and he nodded fervently. He took hold of the flag once again with shaking hands, and it made him look even tinier. Percy shoved him lightly in the right direction and the kid took off in a run. Percy watched after him happily before turning around, looking right in Annabeth’s direction.

“You still there?” he asked into the empty woods, maybe he was even smarter than she gave him credit for.

She tore off the hat and reappeared to his left. She took a cautionary stride in the boy’s direction but Percy stepped into her path to block her.

“Can’t you just let him have this?” Percy pleaded. “He told me that none of the other campers will even talk to him. Now maybe they will.”

She stepped back and relaxed, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Fine,” she huffed in feigned annoyance. 

She was competitive but she knew that her team had already lost, and she wouldn’t be able to catch the young boy with Percy in her way. Not in time to stop the Hermes camper from crossing the line, anyway. It was clear that Percy wasn’t actually that tired, and he had lied for the benefit of the boy. Her mind reeled as she gazed at his strong chest, because seriously, what the FUCK. She knew he was sweet, but she thought maybe he was just polite and friendly to her because she was his tutor. But this, what he just pulled, was something else entirely. He cared; he was thoughtful. The glory of winning for his whole team didn’t matter to him. Popularity and attention didn’t matter to him. At least not more than making another camper feel happy and accepted. People are what mattered to him most, and it was just all too much for her. She was supposed to sit back at a respectful distance, and just tutor him every day, when she was secretly thinking about what they’re own children might look like, and how good a dad he would be. She knew she sounded insane; she could hear herself. Gods he made her angry, because how dare he make her feel this way? How dare he take her smart, clever, sensible self and turn her into this. Whatever this was. She set her jaw angrily, because she kind of wanted to shout at him. Tell him to stop looking like that. To stop being like that. He noticed her frustration and stepped forward.

“Look I’m sorry, I, I’m not trying to cheat or anything. I hope I didn’t break any rules, I just wanted to do something nice,” Percy apologized.

And gods what the hell was he even apologizing for? He was too good. She rolled her eyes and huffed. Not only was this boy gorgeous, but he just also happened to be attentive and sweet as well. She couldn’t stand to look at him any longer, or she might just do something stupid, like punch him in the face, or kiss him senseless. She turned on her heel without a word and left him watching after her, she needed time to think and reassess, and Percy’s handsome face only stood to infuriate her even more.

He shouted after her, confusion evident in his tone, “Annabeth!” 

Her stomach flipped, her name on his tongue always sounded amazing and it’s all she ever wanted to hear for the rest of her life. 

“What?” she practically yelled at him.

He looked down like he didn’t quite know how to continue. “I guess I’m just sorry. I’ll still see you tomorrow, right?” he mumbled.

She softened because it’s impossible to stay mad at him, especially when she had no real reason to be angry in the first place. “Are you going to the campfire?” she asked as an apology for her outburst.

He looked up at her with shy hope on his face and nodded his head, which made his sweaty hair flop onto his forehead. She wanted to push it away from his eyes and run her fingers through it. She wanted to know if it was as soft as it looked. She wanted to pull at the ends at the base of his neck, while their lips met in a passionate embrace. She blinked, trying to pull herself out of her wandering thoughts.

“Yeah Grover mentioned it,” he told her.

“The older kids sometimes stay out late and just chat.” she said softly.

“Okay, I’ll stay,” he said happily.

“Okay,” she repeated. “Now, I’m going to go shower, because someone made me run across the whole woods,” she tried joking to lighten the serious mood.

A chuckle burst deep from within his chest, and it was always an amazing sight to behold. His whole face lit up happily, and his eyes shone brightly, and those adorable dimples appeared. It also just sounded so good, it was deep and clear and hearty, and it made her knees a little weak. She turned again, this time less angrily, and made her way through the trees slowly, hearing the cheers of Percy’s team ring out.

___________________________________________________________________

Annabeth sat around the campfire, enjoying the warmth and the company. She was next to Piper and Leo, staring into the flames as everyone argued about the game’s events. Clarisse leaned against Chris while shouting viciously at Nico, who was holding hands with Will. Silena and Beckendorf were cuddled on a log to her left and Percy watched on quietly with Grover by his side, a small content smile on his face. They made eye content briefly and he grinned even wider. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned away. Not her smoothest move but he usually left her at a loss for words. She tried to ignore his commanding presence by focusing back on the conversation around her. 

“You better watch yourself Clarisse, because my fatal flaw is holding a grudge. You’ll pay for that cheap shot, next week,” Nico threatened.

“Well my fatal flaw is anger dumbass, so I’m not about to forget any time soon that your fucking skeletons snapped my spear in half,” she growled back.

“Calm down guys,” Annabeth tried to cut in.

“Stay out of it, Wise Girl,” Clarisse sneered.

“Seriously, that’s enough,” Silena commanded.

Clarisse didn’t look happy about it, but this time she listened and along with Nico, she leaned back in her seat, huffing the whole time. The head camper of the Aphrodite cabin knew how to balance a friendly but commanding tone, and she could get almost anyone in line. 

“What’s your fatal flaw Silena? Do you know?” Piper asked, trying to change the subject before another fight broke loose.

“I mean no one has told me specifically but I think it would be my controlling nature. I always feel like I can fix people or set them up, and I don’t really ask if they want my help or not. I guess it’s a result of being a daughter of Aphrodite. I just love to see people happy together and I want to skip all the back and forth angst and uncertainty, so I take matters into my own hands. It’s something I’m working on,” she admitted before sidling back into Beck’s side.

Piper smiled and turned to Annabeth, “what about you girly?” she asked with a poke to the knee.

“Pride,” she responded simply. “On my quest to the Sea of Monsters to save goat boy here,” she laughed, nudging Grover’s hoof, “I listened to the sirens and they showed me that sometimes I feel like I could do things better than everyone else.”

They all chuckled lightly, “well that’s the least surprising fatal flaw I’ve ever heard, we’ve all seen you during group activities when you’re not in charge. I always think you’re about to snap someone in half,” Leo joked, and everyone laughed in agreement.

“Yeah well it’s something that I’m working on too,” she retorted with a smile.

“What about you Perce?” Grover questioned.

It seems like the two of them had really hit it off and were becoming fast friends. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that Percy had managed to charm all of her friends much faster than she had. It had taken her months of work to open up to them and really let them in. It’s not that she was bad at making friends, she was actually quite good at it. Her whole life she’d been learning how to read people, how to befriend them. But just because she was friend with someone didn’t mean she automatically opened up to them. She took her time letting people in, she was selective with those who really got to know her, but once she considered someone a true friend, she became loyal and protective to a fault. Percy obviously didn’t have the same rigorous process for his relationship building. He was open and kind with everyone he met, almost like he had an endless resource of himself to give away. He was willing to befriend anyone and everyone.

Against her will, she looked over at him and gulped. He looked amazing in the soft, warm glow of the fire. The shadows made his defined features stand out even more, showing off his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. 

She looked away as he began to respond, “I didn’t have a lot of friends at my mortal school, and the ones I did have would get bullied all the time. Like I had one friend who literally just had a little acne on his face and people would call him names and tease him for it all the time,” he said with anger dripping in his tone. 

She couldn’t help but look back up at him in surprise. She’d had known him for almost two months now, and so far, Percy had been nothing but cheerful and happy. 

“Those bullies,” he spat out, “they used to tell me, ‘dude you could have friends if you didn’t hang out with losers all the time,’” Percy said in a mocking tone. “My friends weren’t losers, they were good people, and I was just as much of a weirdo as they were. And then when my brother and I got attacked last week, I got hurt because I went back for Tyson. I couldn’t leave him, you know, and he’s saved my ass too many times to even count.” 

He looked up at their faces and everyone stared back at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Get on with already, we didn’t ask for story time Jackson,” Clarisse barked out.

Percy smiled for the first time since he began, and Annabeth felt infinitely relieved to see it.

“Anyway, when my dad came to tell me it was time that I joined camp, he said that I needed to learn to let go of people or they might drag me down. He told me that I was dangerous because I’m the type of person that would tear the world apart for the people I care about. So, I guess my fatal flaw is loyalty,” he finishes.

The campers nodded and chattered amongst themselves, eventually moving on to other topics, but Annabeth continued to stare at Percy, completely frozen on the spot. Something simmered in her chest and she knew she had to get away. She stood abruptly and ran from the fire. Piper called after her, but she ignored it and kept storming away. She finally stopped by a tree and leaned her head against it. She wanted to scream, as she sorted through her thoughts. So just to recap, here was this boy, with the face and body of a god, who just also happened to be sweet and caring. And then, just because the fates must really hate her, his fatal flaw was the one thing that she valued the absolute most in her life. She had always craved something permanent and lasting. For as long as she could remember, Annabeth was terrified that people would leave her. Her mom, her dad, her closest childhood friends, they’d all moved on. So now this guy that she was trying to convince herself to stay away from, essentially held the one characteristic that mattered most to her in a person. Gods, he was so fucking irresistible. It was like he was built specifically to get on her nerves and make her fall for him all at once. She prided herself on being strong, focused and independent, but she was falling for him hard and fast, which terrified her. He was perfect for her in the most imperfect ways. They weren’t the same person, they didn’t agree on everything, they didn’t really share all the same interests, but none of that mattered to her. He listened to her, he wasn’t afraid to call her out on her bullshit, he could be goofy and funny or sarcastic and witty but he still took time to talk about the important stuff, and it didn’t hurt that he was the most attractive guy she’d ever seen. Then to top it all off, his fatal flaw basically guaranteed that he would never break her heart, but it didn’t make it any less scary. The risk was still there. What if he didn’t like her back? She’s been nothing but angry and temperamental around him the whole time, in her failed attempts of hiding her attraction. She couldn’t really blame him if he didn’t share her interest. And what if she admitted her feelings and it ruined the fragile friendship they had built? The chance of being rejected by someone whose opinion she has come to deeply care about, would be devastating. She would rather have him in her life as a friend, then not at all. And, what if he did like her back and it didn’t work out? What if she lost him? Demigods had difficult lives, dangerous lives and if you put two together, the chances of being killed only multiplied. What if they dated and she lost focus of her future? She wanted to get into a good school, she wanted to study architecture, she wanted to work at a good firm, maybe even run her own one day. If she dated Percy, she might have to give those things up. These endless questions and fears ran through her head in a matter of seconds. She knew she was overthinking this, and she was freaking out about things than would probably never happen, but they worried her all the same.

She took a deep steadying breath and headed towards the cabins. She’d apologize to her friends tomorrow for leaving so suddenly, but for now she needed to sleep. Gods, Percy was probably so confused. It would be difficult to face him during their tutoring session tomorrow. Maybe she could confide in Piper. She would probably never live it down, but the daughter of Aphrodite, as unconventional as she was, gave great advice and she always managed to calm Annabeth down whenever she spiralled. Usually her major freak-outs involved school or her inability to master a new move with her knife, not because of boys, but Piper could help her, nonetheless. She reached her cabin and snuck through the door, trying not to wake up her sleeping siblings. She had an admittedly eventful day, so she fell asleep almost immediately after her head hit the pillow and her last thoughts were predictably of Percy. She couldn’t even escape him in her sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I would love your input on this. Do we want to keep this mostly PG-13, or should we go towards smuts-ville? I've been debating back and forth, so let me know what you prefer.

Annabeth had to wait much longer than she wanted to, to talk to Piper. Patience was never her strong suit. She finally managed to pull her friend away from her chattering Aphrodite siblings right after they finished eating their dinner. 

“I need your help,” Annabeth said while tugging nervously on the ends of her hair.

Piper frowned with worry, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just need to bounce something off you,” she explained.

Her friend seemed relieved, “oh okay, what’s up?”

Annabeth looked around to ensure that no one was within ear shot before facing Piper head on. “Percy,” she said simply.

Piper’s lips lifted into a satisfied smirk, “what about him?”

Annabeth sighed, “well you know how I’ve been tutoring him for a while?”

Piper nodded.

“Well I was teaching him yesterday, but then we took a break and he asked me where my dream vacation spot was, and I said Greece and he was like ‘oh yeah, I remember you like the Parthenon!’” Annabeth said exasperatedly.

“So, what’s the issue?” Piper questioned in confusion.

“He listened to me and he remembered something from like two weeks ago,” she explained like it was obvious.

“Okay, well that’s sweet, right?” her friend asked.

Annabeth groaned in frustration; she didn’t know how to express what she was thinking.

“I can’t just fall for the first hot guy that’s nice to me. I, I have plans, I want to go to college and become an architect and I don’t have room for distractions in my life. And I’m a daughter of Athena and he’s the son of Poseidon and we should hate each other. I prioritize knowledge, and I don’t put boys first,” she tried desperately.

It sounded weak even to her own ears. She had just listed one bullshit reason after other, but it all boiled down to fear. She was scared of Percy, of her feelings for him and of the possibility that he would break her heart which had already been hurt too many times before. She was scared that she couldn’t plan or prepare for him.

Piper’s face softened, “you can still stick to your future and be a good daughter even if you’re a little distracted by a boy. You don’t have to let it rule your life, or act on your feelings. It’s just a small crush, Annabeth, so what’s really the issue?”

Her friend could read her well, “I’m scared of getting hurt,” Annabeth mumbled.

“So, like I said, you don’t have to act on it. Have your little crush and let it be just that, a little crush. That’s manageable,” Piper reasoned.

“It doesn’t feel little sometimes,” she shot back. She ran frustrated fingers through her tangled curls and huffed loudly. “Everything he does is so fucking attractive it like physically pains me,” she added in a whisper.

Piper laughed at that and Annabeth shot her an angry look.

“Care to explain?” Piper asked, a voice full of amusement.

“He’s just so hot, but like really adorable at the same time. And then on top of that, he’s incredibly sweet but he also jokes around with me and he’s witty. And, and he listens to me with a look on his face that holds so much feeling and wonder and he just makes me feel important. And one time he called me pretty, and he got all flustered which made him even cuter. And then, did you hear him last night, his fatal flaw is literally loyalty, what more could you ask for? Gods, it’s just everything, I can’t explain it, please stop me at some point before I embarrass myself” she ranted.

Piper chuckled throughout her whole speech, “I think it’s a little too late for that.”

Annabeth stepped forward and punched her friend on the shoulder while trying to bite back a smile.

“Gods you’re so violent,” Piper grumbled as she rubbed her arm tenderly. “So obviously it’s not a small crush, it’s a big fat, huge crush. So what? If you can’t hide it, then just put it out there, but if you don’t want to do anything about it, then don’t.”

“Well ideally my feelings would just go away, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen. And, I could never tell Percy everything I just told you, so I guess I’ll just bury it.” Annabeth concluded.

“Well I think that Percy is into you too, I’ve seen him staring at you all lovingly and longingly,” Piper claimed, causing Annabeth to blush deeply. “But asides from that, just tutor him and let things progress naturally, don’t think so hard about it. Your Athena brain is overthinking this, babes. It’s really not that serious, it’s not like you’re signing up for marriage, you’re just admitting to yourself that you might be interested in a boy romantically.”

Annabeth couldn’t help but smile, she knew talking to Piper would make her feel more at ease. Her friend was right, she could tutor Percy and enjoy their time together and harbor an insignificant crush on him and that would be that. It didn’t have to be something that weighed on her, it could be something happy and light, and not so damn serious.

She pulled Piper towards her into a hug and they swayed together. It was times like these where she felt infinitely grateful for the friends she had.

“Thank you,” Annabeth said in Piper’s ear and her friend nodded. They both pulled back with big smiles on their faces.

“I’m glad you told me; I feel like a proud mom. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” Piper said dramatically, even wiping a fake tear.

“Shut the hell up!” Annabeth exclaimed, shoving her back. “This is why I don’t tell you shit; you always have a smartass remark.”

“You need to keep me updated on this; I want to hear all the juicy deets. When you tell him you’re in love with him, how he reacts, what he’s like in bed, how long he lasts, all that good stuff,” Piper says with a smirk.

Annabeth’s mouth dropped open, scandalized, and her cheeks burned hot. “Oh. My. Gods. You need a fucking muzzle, you bitch.”

Piper cackled. “Alright we should get back, Chiron will have our asses if he sees were out at this time,” she said.

Annabeth nodded and they walked happily back towards their respective cabins.

Admitting to herself that she liked Percy definitely changed things, but it didn’t necessarily make them better. She didn’t feel the need to get so unnecessarily angry with him in her desperate attempt to ignore her feelings, which was nice. She could just enjoy their tutoring sessions and their effortless conversations. However, it felt like a dam had broken loose and everything that she thought was attractive before, was magnified. Now that she wasn’t trying so hard to deny that she thought he was hot, literally everything he did was sexy to her. Her palms would get sweaty when he looked into her eyes for too long. Her throat went dry when he stretched his back and she got a small tantalizing glimpse of the toned lines at the base of his abdomen which led into his pants, sending her thoughts reeling. Desire would pool deep in her stomach when he stopped to take a drink of water, which made his neck elongate and his Adam’s apple bob. These were all mundane things that went unnoticed to her on anyone else but on him, she saw it all. She had tried, she really had, to stop sexualizing him. Percy was so much more than a pretty face and a hot body. She liked him a lot, more than she wished to admit, and that was with or without his appearance. But as well as she had trained her brain to avoid those daydreams, images of Percy and herself in a variety of scandalous situations and positions flashed through her brain, nonetheless. It was on instinct; they came and went long before she could shut them down. It wasn’t really her fault; he was just simply too hot for his own good. If anything, his amazing personality just made her want him all that much more. It was another layer of him that she desperately wanted revealed. It was totally unfair.

They worked together for another few blissful weeks before he broke the news that their time together would be ending.

“So, Chiron told me that I can join the senior level training now, so he said I don’t need tutoring everyday anymore” Percy admitted shyly.

Annabeth looked at him in surprise and tried to mask her disappointment, “oh okay, we’ll that’s good. Congrats on all your hard work, you were a great student,” she told him.

His face lit up and a soft pink tint took to his cheeks, “thank you. Really, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Now it was her turn to blush, “you’re welcome. It’s going to be weird not having our midday meet ups anymore,” she admitted.

“Well I was hoping we could still get together once a week just for a recap? I’m caught up for now, but I’m definitely still going to be confused and lost with the new lessons,” he chuckled nervously, wringing his hands together, like he was scared to hear her answer.

She tried to school her reaction, she didn’t want to seem overly excited, “um yeah I don’t mind, it’ll give me a chance to review stuff too.”

He cracked a wide smile, “you never stop studying, do you?”

“I’m a daughter of Athena for a reason,” she said with a light laugh.

He leaned back more relaxed now, hooking his hands behind his head. She gulped, unable to avoid looking at his bulging biceps, and strong hands. She couldn’t help but wonder what those hands could do to her. How would they feel while tracing the lines of her body, or tucked deep inside her pants?

“Good news is that we’ll actually see each throughout the day a lot more now,” he said happily.

His voice broke her train of dangerous, wandering thoughts. Her own smile widened until her lips were almost splitting. She tried not to be too giddy, but she loved how eager he seemed to spend time her.

“That’s true, I don’t think you’ll be able to keep up with me though,” she taunted playfully.

His mouth dropped open in mock offence, “how dare you Chase, I killed it in the last capture the flag in case you forgot,” he defended.

“I didn’t forget,” she admitted begrudgingly. “That doesn’t mean you’ll be able to beat me in a sword fight, or outdo me in archery, or ride a Pegasus better than I can,” she boasted. Sometimes her pride really did get the best of her.

He smiled good naturedly. “Well I’ll definitely give you the archery thing, I’ve always been really bad at that. I’m definitely not a child of Apollo,” he said with a laugh and she joined in. “But I think I have you beat with the Pegasus. I can speak horse, baby,” he said confidently. 

He was obviously saying it in a joking manner but hearing the word ‘baby’ roll off his lips and directed towards her, did something to her heart. She had always disliked when couples used cliché pet names for each other, she thought it was a little cringy, but when Percy did it, she never wanted him to stop.

She tried to get back on track with the conversation, but she couldn’t help but stammer slightly, “what do, what do you mean?” she questioned.

“I guess because my dad is Poseidon and he invented the horse, I can speak to them. I don’t know, I’ve always be able to hear their thoughts and stuff,” Percy explained.

She stared at him in awe. He could control water and talk to horses?

“I can’t talk to animals, and I don’t have any cool powers. What’s up with that?” She looked up at the sky jokingly, as if questioning the gods.

He laughed and it never stopped making her happy when she heard that beautiful sound. 

“Well you have your brain, right? That’s your power, you’re like next level smart,” Percy said simply, like it wasn’t the greatest compliment she had ever received. Like he didn’t realize that people valuing her intelligence was one of the most important things in the world to her.

“Thanks,” was all she managed to choke out.

“Plus, why would you be able to talk to animals? Your mom didn’t create them. If anything, you should be able to communicate with like olives or something,” he said.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and bit her lip, trying to hide just how funny she thought he was, “gods you’re so stupid,” she exclaimed.

“I know, that’s literally why I’ve needed you to teach me this whole time, Wise Girl. Come on, keep up,” he joked, with an unfairly attractive wink to boot.

She smiled and looked down at her lap. 

“You heard Clarisse call me that, huh?” she asked

“Yeah, I’m never one to give that girl credit but I’ve got to say, the name really suits you,” Percy claimed.

“I think she meant it as an insult,” Annabeth brought up.

“Well that’s not how I meant it,” he said simply, which made her smile.

She loved being able to joke around with him so easily. It was the kind of effortlessness one could only hope for in a partner. As she stared down, wrapped up in thought, she noticed her watch.

“Oh shoot, I have to go do cabin clean up with my siblings, but I’ll see you tomorrow morning for sword training. You’re about to see how it’s really done,” she said as she stood up. 

She patted him twice on his shoulder and it felt so solid and strong under her hand, she almost forgot that she was trying to mock him.

“Oh lord, I’m not sure I’ll even be able to wake up for breakfast, let alone sword training, and I love breakfast” Percy groaned.

“Well I could wake you up on my way down to the dining pavilion, if you want,” Annabeth offered nervously. She hoped she didn’t seem too desperate.

“Oh my gods, that would be amazing. Yes please!” he said enthusiastically.

She smiled wide, failing to hide her excitement, “okay, sure.”

“Alright, see you then, bright and early,” he said, staring up at her from the ground. He looked so adorable and sweet from this angle, like a little puppy, staring at her with an easygoing expression. She bit back a sigh that threatened to escape her lips, it was a little scary the effect he had on her.

“Okay bye,” she said, turning away and racing down the hill with a grin spread across her face. Her siblings had probably never seen her smile so much in their entire lives. Percy had turned her into a lovesick mess.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth gets a little flustered and a little jealous, which will become a reoccurring problem for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments on the last chapter. I'm going to ask again, just to see if I can get some more opinions and input on this; would you guys prefer I stick with mostly PG-13 (suggestive) stuff, or go for straight up explicit smut in later chapters?
> 
> Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays

Annabeth woke up with a smile still on her face. Gods she needed to get a handle on these feelings, but she couldn’t help feeling excited to see Percy again, even if she had been with him just last night. As usual, Piper was waiting for her when she stepped out her cabin.

“We have to make a quick stop on our way to the dining pavilion,” Annabeth told her friend.

“Where?” Piper asked.

Annabeth hesitated; she knew she was going to get picked on for this, but Piper would find out eventually anyway. “I told Percy we’d wake him up on our way to the pavilion, because he’s having trouble getting up in time,” she admitted.

Piper wiggled her eyebrows, “you’re already sharing mornings together, how adorable.”

“Shut up, I’m just being friendly,” Annabeth responded.

“You’ve never done that for me, my friend,” Piper quipped.

Annabeth walked faster, refusing to look at Piper any longer, “I will hit you,” she threatened.

“Starting early with the violence today, I see,” Piper said back in a joking tone.

“Gods leave me alone,” Annabeth said with an eye roll which helped mask the amusement on her face. 

They stopped in front of Cabin 3, and she hesitated in front of the door. She didn’t know why she was so nervous, but for whatever reason, she was.

“You have to knock on the door if you want him to come out,” Piper said sarcastically.

Annabeth turned with lightning speed and smacked her friend on the arm, “stop making fun of me,” she complained.

Piper chuckled and leaned passed Annabeth to knock firmly on the door. They waited for almost a minute and heard no response, no noise from the cabin at all. Her friend shrugged and started banging louder, but still there was no response.

“Percy!” Piper tried screaming to no avail. “Oh, my gods, how is this boy still asleep?” she asked exasperatedly.

“Calm down,” Annabeth reasoned, “he’ll come out eventually.”

Piper did not listen, and instead started kicking at the door in frustration. She made a rhythm out of it, alternating between knocking and kicking in a musical pattern, while loudly humming a song. She kept it up for another minute before huffing in anger.

“Fuck it, I’m breaking in,” Piper told her. 

Before Annabeth could stop her, Piper twisted the handle and barged in. She followed right behind, trying to pull her friend back outside, but in their scuffle, instead they both stumbled through the doorway. They caught themselves just in time, but they very nearly bumped into the dripping body in front of them. Annabeth’s gaze rose from the floor and locked on Percy, clearly just exiting from the shower. Her breath was knocked out of her, and her mouth dropped open. She felt like she had just fallen into a movie or a music video, because standing in front of her was a wet and ruffled looking model. On their own accord her eyes greedily traced Percy’s nearly naked body. Whatever she had pictured to be under those form fitting shirts did not do justice to the real deal. His chest was strong and distinct. His stomach was taut and defined, with a literal six pack. His towel hung tantalizingly low on his hips, giving her a perfect view of the sharp lines leading down underneath the fabric. She wanted to kiss along his flawless abdominal muscles and rip off the towel to reveal what was underneath. She wanted to see all of him. She could picture those powerful arms encircling her body as he leaned over her, caging her in. She could imagine his muscular torso, flexed and straining as he pumped into her. She could envision his athletic hands slapping her ass or gripped firmly in her hair. She was quickly overwhelmed by titillating and lustful thoughts and there was no snapping herself out of it this time. She might have actually whimpered out loud, as she gazed at him dazedly. She noticed she was biting her lip with too much force and released it before she could cause real damage. She had already been staring at him for longer than was appropriate, so she didn’t even realize that Percy was trying to catch her attention.

He waved a hand in front of her face, “Annabeth? Are you okay?”

“Hmm?” was all she could manage.

“Are you okay, you look really out of it?” Percy tried again.

“Um, what?” she asked, still not paying attention, her eyes were now watching, mesmerized, as water trickled slowly down his neck.

Piper tried to help her by cutting in, “wow dude, you’re like super ripped.”

Percy looked down at himself, as if only just realizing that he was basically naked in front of them.

“Oh uh, thanks. I was on the swim team at school, so I had to do a lot of training, and dad made me practice with my sword pretty often, so…” he trailed off awkwardly.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, like he wasn’t enjoying having all the focus on his appearance. He looked as if he couldn’t quite believe that people could be attracted to him, but honestly how could you not be? Even if Percy wasn’t your type, he was just objectively extremely attractive, but also, how could he not be everyone’s type? He was perfect.

“So, you’ve got a lot of practice with your sword then? Can you put it to good use?” Piper asked suggestively.

Percy choked and his eyes widened, an adorable blush taking to his cheeks. Annabeth would’ve loved to step in and help him at some point, or make any type of intelligent comment, but she was still fixated on his bare chest.

“I’m just kidding,” Piper laughed. “But seriously, you’re like movie star ripped, you look like you were made in a lab or something,” she continued, not at all embarrassed while reaching out and poking a finger into his stomach.

If she were able to move any of her limbs, Annabeth might have joined Piper. She was jealous that she didn’t get the chance to feel his abs too, but she was currently putting all her effort into not collapsing. She could feel that her knees were shaking a little, threatening to buckle at any minute.

“Um, right thanks. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was already time for breakfast. Let me just throw on some clothes quickly, and then we can go,” Percy told them.

Piper nodded and took Annabeth’s hand, pulling her along. Annabeth’s head swiveled to keep her eyes locked Percy’s form, unwilling to break her gaze. When they finally made it back through the door, she immediately leaned on the railing outside, needing the additional support.

She groaned, eventually starting to regain some of her senses, “oh gods,” Annabeth mumbled.

Piper watched her, amusement dancing in her eyes.

“How bad was it? I think I blacked out for most of it,” Annabeth asked.

“Do you want me to be honest with you?” Piper asked.

She sighed, “yeah, hit me with it.”

“I’ll admit, it was pretty rough. Bad news is, you were staring at him the entire time, and you didn’t say a single thing, and you were biting your lip and moaning and stuff.”

“I did not moan!” Annabeth insisted.

“It was basically a moan, or a sigh or something. Either way, very embarrassing,” Piper argued.

Annabeth groaned into her hands, “fuck this is bad.”

“Okay, but the good news is, I was staring at him too because I’m not blind, he is very hot. And also, Percy is super clueless about girls being interested in him, so he probably just thought you weren’t feeling well or something,” Piper chuckled.

“It’s not my fault okay. Like Jesus fucking Christ, was I dreaming? Did I go to heaven? Because there is no way someone looks that good in real life,” Annabeth rambled.

“I can’t even argue with you there, he’s not necessarily the type of person I would normally go for, but I could definitely make an exception for all of that,” Piper added.

“Gods, I will never live this down,” Annabeth whined.

Piper put her hands on Annabeth’s shoulders, “girl it’s fine, he didn’t even notice, which seems impossible, but somehow Percy is blind to your obvious lusting. So, just try to regroup because he’s going to be out in like two minutes, and as much as I would love a repeat of that, you need to get a grip.”

Annabeth nodded and ran a hand over her face, trying to shake herself out of her daze.

“Okay I can do this, I am respectable woman, I have self-control,” Annabeth stated.

“Yes, you do,” Piper agreed, nodding her head.

Percy stepped out the door and Annabeth’s resolve broke almost immediately. She dug her nails into her palm to stop herself from reaching out for him. She wanted to feel the dampness of his hair under her fingers, and the warmth of his lips on hers. She gulped, hoping to soothe her dry throat.

“You guys ready to go?” Percy asked cheerfully, as if he didn’t just completely shatter her world only minutes ago.

She could only nod, and they trudged towards the dining pavilion in silence. It was the only way she could prevent further embarrassment. They dropped him off at his table before Annabeth went to join her siblings. She watched him sitting alone at his table and he seemed to sense her because he looked up from his bowl of solely blue fruit loops to make eye contact with her. He gave her a beautiful, blinding smile that she returned in a fluster. She ate slowly and chatted mindlessly with her brothers and sisters, but her gaze never left Percy’s figure. She watched him eagerly, noting his routines and habits, excitedly collecting each scrap of information and storing it away for later. She desperately wanted to learn every side of him. She could almost picture waking up together and eating breakfast, just to the two of them. She sipped coffee from her mug and stared at his back dreamily, not even pretending to be invested in the conversation going on around her, anymore. She was so concentrated on watching every one of Percy’s movements that she didn’t notice a girl from the Aphrodite cabin going up to him, until she was already sitting down at his table. The girl was pretty, beautiful even, obviously inheriting her genes from her mother. Annabeth’s vision tunneled on them and her stomach dropped as she watched the girl lean close to Percy and whisper something in his ear, flirtatiously. Annabeth’s grip on the handle of her mug was like a vice. She refused to look away, hoping she could burn a hole into the girl’s back, with just her stare. Who did this girl think she was, just coming up to Percy and talking to him? She wasn’t even allowed to sit at that table. And even if Annabeth wished she had the courage to break the rules and sit with him, it didn’t mean she wanted some other girl to do it instead. She tried to calm her breathing, she hated that she was reacting this way, but she was a territorial person and she always had been. She was fiercely protective of the friends she had. With Percy, whom she had a debilitating crush on, her possessiveness was only multiplied. Annabeth’s vision turned red as the girl threw her head back and laughed while running her hand along his strong arm. The handle on Annabeth’s mug snapped right off and that finally broke her out of her angry stare. She narrowly avoided getting hot liquid poured all over her lap, dabbing a napkin just in time to catch it. When she looked back up, she was surprised to see a smug looking Piper in the seat across from her. Annabeth blinked in puzzlement.

“What are you doing at our table?” she asked her friend.

“I’m trying to distract you from what’s going on behind me, because I was worried you were about to stab that girl with your knife,” Piper said with a laugh.

Annabeth’s ears turned bright red and she put her head in her hands, “was it that obvious?”

“Well I was watching you because I was excited to see your reaction, and may I say, you exceeded all expectations,” Piper joked.

She threw Piper a glare and then dared to peer over her friend’s shoulder to see what was happening at his table. Annabeth’s mouth dropped open at what she saw. There were now two more girls and a guy huddled around Percy, vying desperately for his attention. Piper turned to see what she was looking at, and then gave her a wide smile.

“Jesus, they’re like vultures,” Piper said.

Annabeth’s stomach churned with jealousy. She could never compete with the sheer number of people interested in Percy. He could have his pick of any attractive camper throwing themselves at him, why would he even bother looking at her?

“They’re shameless,” Annabeth snarled.

“Leo has hung out with Percy a few times and he told me that this basically always happens,” Piper admitted.

Annabeth couldn’t stand to watch any longer. It wasn’t Percy’s fault, she’s not even sure if he knew that people were flirting with him. Like Piper said, he was a little clueless in that sense. As far as she knew he still didn’t know about her own crush on him and she hadn’t been all that subtle about it, as much as she tried to hide it. He looked around a little helplessly and made eye contact with her again. Unlike the tight smiles Percy gave the other campers, he smiled brightly when he looked at her. Her heart fluttered violently in her chest, but she could only offer a pained smile in return. He frowned in confusion at her reaction and turned back to the people around him, trying to make conversation. He was too nice for his own good. 

“I need to get out of here, I can’t watch this,” Annabeth told her friend, pushing up from the table.

As she stood, she cleared her throat loudly to catch the attention of Mr. D, who was asleep at the head table. He woke with a start and scanned the room, noticing the ever-growing group around Percy. 

“Hey, Peter Johnson! No parties at your table. I’ll put you all on cleaning duty if you don’t disperse, you heathens,” Mr. D shouted.

The campers scattered reluctantly, and Percy breathed out a sigh, in what Annabeth hoped was relief.

“You are such a petty bitch,” Piper said with a smile.

Annabeth just shrugged but she sported a satisfied smirk.

Piper laughed at her expression and stood up as well. “Maybe we can catch Grover before he heads off. Chiron thinks they might’ve found two new demigods in California,” her friend told her.

“Oh shit, I totally forgot he was leaving today. We’ve gotta hurry,” Annabeth said.

As they rushed towards the top of hill, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and to her surprise, she found Percy looking down at her.

“Hey Wise Girl, where are you off to?” he asked with a warm smile.

She tried to bite back a gleeful grin, it didn’t escape her notice that he had left his breakfast early, just so he could come talk to her.

“Are you really going to call me that?” she asked with an eye roll and a smirk.

“Yup, I like it,” Percy said happily.

“Well then I need a name for you,” she concluded.

He puffed out his chest and her gaze immediately flickered down to stare at it, without her brain’s permission, reminded of the stunning view she got this morning.

“Something heroic and powerful?” he asked her jokingly.

Once she got her breathing under control, she put on a look of concentration. “Hmm, no I don’t think so, it has to be something that’s relevant to you,” she answered sarcastically.

“How dare you?” he cried out in mock offence.

“Oh, I’ve got it! I’ll call you Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth proclaimed.

“Seriously? That’s awful. Mine is a compliment, yours sounds like an insult,” he whined adorably.

“It is an insult, dummy. Your head is always full of kelp, and your dad is Poseidon. It’s very fitting,” she concluded.

He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, causing her to giggle in response, which was apparently something she did now. She wanted to pull that extended lip in between her teeth so badly that she felt a little sick. Gods if she got the chance, she would ravage this man in front of her. They were still staring at each other intently when Piper interrupted.

“Wow, you guys have pet names for each other now. That is simply adorable,” she stated with an evil glint in her eye.

Annabeth broke her gaze immediately and reddened profusely. Percy wasn’t much better, taking a large step away from her and rubbing a hand on the back of his neck awkwardly. She couldn’t find her voice, but luckily, he managed to speak up.

“Oh, uh, hey Pipes I didn’t see you there,” he apologized.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Piper responded with a satisfied smirk.

“So, anyway, where are you girls headed? You never answered me,” Percy said, trying to change the topic. 

“We were just going to say goodbye to Grover, he’s going to scout out whether those two kids Chiron found are demigods and escort them back here,” Piper explained.

“Oh, can I join? I want to say bye to G-Man too,” Percy asked.

The girls nodded and together, the three of them raced towards the camp’s borders and hugged their satyr friend before he left. They watched on as Grover threw a backpack over his shoulder and trotted away into the woods.

“So, we’ve got sword training now, right? I’m still trying to remember this new schedule. I’m used to following around the 10-year olds,” Percy joked.

Annabeth and Piper both laughed and then she looked at her watch. “Yeah, we should really get down to the arena, before we’re late.”

She was infinitely excited to finally see Percy fight in the flesh. She knew she’d probably drool over him no matter how good he was, but she was curious to see how he held up in a sword fight against the more senior campers. She had seen him take people out with his water powers, but not yet with Riptide, the blade he said he got from his dad. If he was as good as she thought he might be, then she would probably be a melted puddle on floor, watching him. Whatever, it’s not like she could embarrass herself any more than she already had today. At this point, she could probably kiss him in front of everyone, and he still wouldn’t realize that she had a huge crush on him.

“Let’s go,” Piper said, and so they did.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the responses, it seems like people want the smut, so I'm going to go for it. We probably still won't see smut for a few chapters, but just know that it is coming at some point.
> 
> Another question for you all, do you want to hear from Percy's POV? In the chapter I'm writing now, I was thinking of putting a small section with Percy's thoughts about Annabeth. Let me know if this is something you'd like to see.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

She didn’t get to fight Percy herself during their lesson which would have been exhilarating, but she still got the chance to watch him. 

All the campers started out practicing the typical moves and motions together, but after a half hour, they split into pairs and each took turns battling in front of the whole group. 

She went up against Piper, and although her friend was a fierce competitor, Annabeth managed to beat her after an intense ten minutes of back and forth. The Stoll brothers went next and then, after what felt like an eternity, Percy was finally up. 

He was paired against Beckendorf which was no easy task. The Hephaestus camper was a big guy, strong and powerful. Percy was a little shorter, lither and more toned compared to Beck’s bulkier build. Silena’s boyfriend was not the most skilled with his sword but if you got too close, he could do real damage with simple brute force. Unfortunately for Beck none of that mattered, because Percy was a damn sight to behold. The son of Poseidon was like a demon with his sword. Percy darted in and out easily, each swing was made with purpose and conviction. He was also clever, never wasting a single strike. He could read his opponent’s movements, which meant he was always two or three steps ahead. He was equal parts determination and power, and it took all of thirty seconds before he disarmed Beck and pointed his sharp blade at his opponent’s throat. 

Percy looked absolutely beautiful in this moment. Hair stuck to his forehead and face glistening with sweat. His eyes shone with adrenaline and concentration. She had never seen anything look so goddamn attractive. 

She tried employing every part of her brainpower to stop her thoughts from drifting, but it was impossible. Images of Percy in a similar state but instead of in the arena, he was in her bed, flashed through her mind. She didn’t have a whole lot of experience with that sort of thing. She had kissed Connor a few times out of pure curiosity and boredom, but no one had ever sparked a fire in her like Percy did. She hadn’t spent a lot time thinking about sex because she always felt like she was too busy to really worry about such things but now it kept crossing her mind whenever he was around, far more often than she’d like to admit. A view of Percy’s head trapped between her legs, flitted in and out of her brain. She clenched her hands in concentration, focused on ridding the idea from her mind.

She knew she had been staring much longer than appropriate for one friend to gaze at another friend, but she couldn’t find it in herself to look away. He was a damn god, and no one could convince her otherwise.

She noticed that she wasn’t the only one gazing at him with the same lovestruck expression. Plenty of the campers, of all genders, were mesmerized by him. That familiar tug of jealousy returned. She didn’t like that everyone got to watch him in this way. She wanted to be the only person with the pleasure of seeing him like this. Raw, free and powerful. It seemed entirely unfair that she wasn’t allowed to take it further. She couldn’t touch him; she couldn’t feel him or kiss him. She could only admire from afar and it was painful. It was like an agonizing yearning, one that made her hands twitch with the desperate desire to reach out to him, but she held back. She had no right, he wasn’t hers to have, as much as she wished it were true. She had no claim over him, and she had no more right to him than any of the other campers.

Her ogling was finally broken when Leo stood up from the ground and cut off her amazing view of Percy’s strong, heaving shoulders. Her face immediately turned into one of disdain as she took in her curly-haired friend in front of her.

“What are you staring at Beth?” he asked with pleased snicker.

“Ew, never call me that ever again,” she said with disdain.

“Is Pretty Boy allowed to call you that? Beth and Percy sounds like a pretty cute couple,” he mocked.

She stood up quickly, “I’m going to need you to shut the hell up or I’ll stab you,” she threatened, pointing to her sharp knife which was secured in the sheath on her leg.

Piper stood up and joined in on the laughter at Annabeth’s expense. She was in the middle of giving her two friends their daily punches when she felt a strong arm sling over her shoulder. She paused and looked up to see Percy gazing down at her happily. She gasped aloud and her cheeks turned a dark shade of red. She stared at him dumbly, unsure if maybe she was dreaming. Her knees turned wobbly, and heart clenched painful and she thought momentarily that she might be having a heart attack. Maybe this is how she died, it wouldn't be a bad way to go.

“Are you guys making fun of my friend here?” Percy questioned Leo and Piper.

She felt a stab to her gut when she heard the word ‘friend.’ She wanted to be so much more than that.

“Oh, of course,” Leo responded happily.

“And what was the basis of this teasing?” Percy asked.

Before her two friends could embarrass her further, she cut in quickly. “Um, they were just pointing out that I almost dropped my knife while I was fighting Piper. They think I could use some improvement,” she lied.

“Really?” Percy said, confused. “I thought you were pretty amazing. You disarmed Beauty Queen, here, so she’s one to talk,” he joked, nudging a finger into Piper’s side. She squirmed and flipped him her middle finger in retaliation. “And Leo tripped over his own pant leg just trying to stand up.”

Annabeth’s blush spread up to her ears, and she couldn’t even look at him. She bit back a smile to hide how happy she was to have him defend her, even if her friends hadn’t really been insulting her fighting skills. He had called her ‘amazing.’

“Hey!” Leo exclaimed. “No one even noticed, and I almost beat Katie this time,” he argued.

“I hate to tell you this buddy, but everyone noticed,” Percy responded with a happy laugh, that warmed her whole body. “Anyway, I should go grab a shower, I’m all sweaty and I probably smell like shit.”

He did not, in fact, smell like shit. He actually smelled just as amazing as ever. She tried not to drift off and start imagining what Percy might look like as he stood in the shower, naked form and all, especially now that she knew first-hand how good he looked with water dripping down his body. She screwed her eyes shut and worked to gradually banish the dirty thoughts from her head.

“Uh yeah, okay yeah, I’ll see you later, have fun, or enjoy the shower,” Annabeth stuttered, cringing her whole way through it.

He gave her shoulder a soft squeeze and disentangled himself from her. “Thanks, Wise Girl, I will enjoy it,” he offered nicely, trying in vain to help her recover from the awkward fumbling. “I’ll see you soon,” Percy said to the three of them, and headed off towards his cabin.

Annabeth immediately slapped a palm over her forehead. “Oh gods, just end me now,” she muttered, embarrassed.

Her friends were nice enough to wait until Percy rounded the corner to burst into laughter. 

“This content you’re giving us, never gets old,” Piper told her.

“Yes, please keep it up, I’m thoroughly entertained,” Leo added.

This time Annabeth pulled her knife right out of the sheath and swung it threateningly towards both their faces. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I would stab you with this,” she told them.

They just kept giggling right in her face, and she couldn’t totally blame them. Her crush on Percy was affecting her to an embarrassing degree. She couldn’t even act like a normal person around him anymore, although she’s not sure she ever did. Gods she was a mess.

_____________________________________________________________

A week later, and Annabeth was still stuck watching people hit on Percy, every waking minute. The Aphrodite campers were especially obsessed; she could hear them gossiping and whispering about him, every time she walked by. She knew Percy was hot, she knew he was amazing, but she was getting tired of having to see desperate people throw themselves at him. They were unbelievable, did they really have no self-control at all? They weren’t special, they weren’t the only ones who were attracted to him, but they didn’t see Annabeth trying to get into his pants at every chance she got. And maybe that was mostly because she was terrified that he would reject her in the same way he had rejected everyone else, but that was beside the point. 

The two of them had been spending more and more time together, hanging out between lessons and still meeting on Fridays for tutoring. She had somehow fallen for him even harder, each minute she spent with him, made him more and more endearing in her eyes. 

They were currently headed towards the Big House for a meeting in the Rec Room. Chiron had asked the head counselors of each cabin to join him, but they still didn’t know the reason why. She and Percy walked side by side, arms brushing as they went, sending sparks through her, and she lived for each second of it. When they arrived, they took a seat next to each other at the ping pong table.

“I’m a little nervous, I’ve never been to one of these before. Am I dressed formally enough? This seems like a very official event,” Percy joked sarcastically.

“Oh, it is, we all have badges, and there’s security, they’ve got to pat you down, it’s a whole long process. I’m not sure how you missed it,” she responded, her tone equally sardonic.

They gave each other happy smiles, sharing in the joke. She stared into his beautiful eyes, bright and full as they looked back at her. From here she could see flecks of ocean blue mixed in with the mesmerizing green. It felt like the two of them were in their own little world. Chiron cantered up and tapped on the table to get everyone’s attention, and she begrudgingly tore her gaze away from Percy.

“Hello everyone, I have some troubling news,” the centaur began.

They all straightened up and leaned in, the noise around the room immediately dying down. The campers now looked serious and focused.

“We have lost contact with Grover and the two demigods. I’m worried if we sent another satyr after him, we may have the same result.”

Annabeth’s heart beat rapidly, and it wasn’t just because Percy was sitting so close to her. She was worried for her satyr friend. He was brave, and he could handle himself, but it was ruthless out there in the real world and you never knew what you might run into. The campers around the table murmured worriedly.

Chiron continued, “thus I have concluded that we need a quest.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer wait, let me know your thoughts!

“Do we have any volunteers?” Chiron asked over the noise.

Annabeth and Percy both raised their hands immediately, and then smiled grimly at each other.

“I can do it; Grover is my oldest friend. I should go,” Annabeth spoke up.

“I would like to help in some way too, I can’t sit around if G-Man is in danger,” Percy said next.

Chiron listened intently to them both. 

“Very well, Annabeth I think you will be best to lead the quest. Percy you are still new to camp, but if Annabeth wants your help, then perhaps you can join her, along with someone else of her choosing. We always send three campers together, it is the strongest number,” the centaur explained.

Percy and Annabeth agreed.

Chiron clapped his hands, “good, that is settled then. Annabeth please go visit Rachel immediately. We will reconvene tomorrow to consider the prophecy and decide definitively whom to send with you.”

Annabeth nodded and everyone began to stand.

“Who’s Rachel?” Percy asked her.

Despite the worrying situation, Annabeth cracked a smile. She rolled her eyes at him, “Seaweed Brain, you’ve been here three months and you still don’t know anything.”

He chuckled good naturedly and just shrugged his shoulders adorably. “I’ll walk with you,” he told her.

She inclined her head and began making her way toward Rachel’s cave, with Percy following dutifully behind her.

“She’s the Oracle of Delphi. She gives out prophecies before each quest. It’s a mandatory part of the process,” Annabeth explained.

“Does having a cryptic prophecy that warns you about what’s going to happen really help?” Percy questioned.

She thought about it for a moment. “No, not really, especially because it’s dangerous to try and prevent a prophecy from happening, so it’s more like a warning of what is to come that you can’t change.”

“Got it,” he said simply. “Why is she in a cave?”

“The old oracle used to be in the attic, but since Rachel is a living teenage girl, we thought she deserved some nicer accommodations,” she said.

“And who decided that a moldy old cave was the best spot?” he questioned.

“Well she’s not there all the time. She actually just got back recently from her boarding school, so that’s probably why you haven’t seen her yet. But she joins in the activities sometimes, just like any other camper. She only gives out prophecy every once in a while, otherwise she’s a totally normal girl,” Annabeth told him. “A totally normal girl that shoots green smoke out of her mouth,” she added.

He laughed and she smiled back at him. The effects of that laugh still amazed her because her whole body was humming happily at the sound of it.

They made it to the entrance of the cave and paused. She began fidgeting nervously, receiving a prophecy was always a little terrifying even if it was her friend giving it to her now and not a creepy, decrepit old lady. Percy noticed, because of course he did; he was observant and caring, and an annoyingly good person. 

“Do you want me to come in there with you? Just for some moral support,” he asked her softly.

“No that’s okay. I have to do it alone, but I appreciate the offer,” she answered with a shy smile.

He nodded and reached out to grab one of her hands with his own, “okay, good luck. I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he told her tenderly. 

She barely even heard what he said because she was so distracted by the feeling of his palm resting against hers, and the sensation of his strong fingers entangled with her smaller ones. Their hands fit perfectly together, like two puzzle pieces coming together. She stared down at them in wonder, not quite believing it was real. He gave her a light squeeze and that brought her back to the present. She couldn’t form any words, so she simply nodded jerkily and turned on her heel, walking into the dark cave.

It was much bigger than it appeared, so she searched aimlessly for a few minutes before spotting a light. She approached and saw Rachel standing in front of a canvas, a paint brush hovering over it.

“Hey Red,” Annabeth said, coming up behind her friend.

Rachel spun in surprise, “Gods, give a girl a little heads up, you scared the shit out of me,” she exclaimed, while placing a hand on her chest.

“You didn’t see that coming?” Annabeth joked.

Rachel rolled her eyes, “wow, I’ve never heard that one before,” she responded sarcastically.

They both laughed and pulled each other into a warm hug.

“I’m glad you’re back, you’ve been gone forever,” Annabeth told her.

“I’m glad to be back, boarding school was awful as usual,” Rachel responded. “Anything new here?”

Annabeth tried to hide the growing pink tint on her cheeks. Percy immediately crossed her mind at her friend’s question, and even just thinking about him made her shy and embarrassed. 

Rachel noticed and her eyebrows rose, “ooh, is there someone new that is making you blush?” she inquired.

Annabeth turned her head away, “No, shut up. We have more pressing matters,” she tried changing the subjects.

Rachel just smiled but she let it go. “So, Grover is missing?” the redhead asked. 

Annabeth nodded sadly, and Rachel’s grin faded. 

“Okay, let’s do this then,” her friend said.

The oracle shut her eyes, and a quiet calm took over her body. They stood stock still, waiting, then suddenly Rachel’s mouth shot open, and a voice that was not her friend’s, spoke.

“To retrieve what you seek, you will go west.  
A son of the big three joins the quest.  
You must break the most sacred number.  
And only journey with one other.  
To succeed you must reveal your hidden secret.  
Or watch a love perish, if you keep it.  
Gods will inevitably get in the way,  
A plan of manipulation is at play.  
Save a friend and gain two.  
But one will not return with you.”

Rachel staggered and blinked, coming out of the trance. She waited expectantly, but Annabeth was frozen on the spot. Her breathing ragged and her heart beating rapidly. ‘Reveal your hidden secret,’ it had said. She could only assume that meant her giant crush on Percy. If he came on the quest, she would have to tell him how she felt? ‘Watch a love perish,’ did that mean that he wouldn’t survive the quest? She was terrified to think that Percy could get hurt, or killed, but the prophecy had clearly stated ‘a son of the big three’ had to come with her, and that could only mean two people at camp. The son of Hades or the son of Poseidon, and Percy had already made it clear that he wanted to join. Questions swirled around in her head. She couldn’t reveal her secret, but if she didn’t then Percy would get hurt? Is that what that meant?

Rachel waved a hand in front of her face, and Annabeth snapped back into focus.

“So, what did it say?” Rachel asked.

“Um, not much. Go west, save a friend and gain two, all good stuff,” she lied.

Rachel smiled, “save a friend sounds positive,” she concluded. 

Annabeth nodded mindlessly, she really needed to see Percy. She needed him to ground her, looking into his eyes always seemed to calm her. 

“Yeah, anyway, thanks Rach. I’m going to go talk to Percy,” she said.

Rachel cocked her head, “Percy?”

“Yeah, he’s a new camper. He wants to join the quest, so I need to discuss stuff with him,” she explained.

“I’ll come with you, I’m a little hungry after all that,” her friend told her, so together they walked back out of the cave.

Percy was still standing in the same spot where she had left him, his backed now turned. He spun around immediately when he heard their footsteps and his eyes zeroed in on her. She sped towards him on shaky legs and stopped right in front of him to stare deeply into his face. She let it melt her anxiety. He looked down with concern and care, and it was all she needed to feel better.

“Percy!” she heard Rachel say behind her and his eyes left Annabeth’s to look over her head.

She watched in confusion as he straightened up and a giant smile took over his face. He stepped around her and made his way over to Rachel, throwing his arms around her in a tight hug. Annabeth’s breathing stopped, and her heart panged painfully.

“Oh my gods, I didn’t know you were the same Rachel as the Oracle Rachel!” Percy exclaimed, still hanging onto her.

Her redheaded friend laughed and pulled back, a wide grin on her beautiful face. “I didn’t know you were the Percy that wants to join the quest Percy,” she responded.

It was excruciating to watch them. She was confused, she was scared about the prophecy and now she had to watch Percy hugging another girl in the same way that she had dreamed about him holding her. The jealousy she had felt watching the campers flirt with him was nothing compared to this. This was like a grating of a knife on her heart. It was mostly innocent before, and Percy had always turned down their advances, but now he was reciprocating the excitement. He was looking at Rachel with the same eagerness and enthusiasm that he had always given to Annabeth. He was an amazing person which meant that he always gave his friends his full attention and support, but she had secretly hoped that she got a little extra notice from him. Piper had gotten into her head, and convinced her that Percy, deep down, maybe liked her just a little bit in return. But now she saw that was not the case. He looked at everyone with the same care and love in his features. Annabeth wasn’t special or different. She was just a good friend to him, and this realization made her want to sob. 

Percy and Rachel looked over with happy smiles on their faces and stepped closer to her.

“I met Perce a few years ago in middle school, and we were close friends until I left for boarding school,” Rachel explained for Annabeth’s benefit.

Perce, she had called him. They had nicknames for each other too.

Rachel turned to face him again, “I can’t believe you’re here though. I had a feeling you might be a demigod, you have a powerful aura, but you never said anything so neither did I,” she laughed.

“I know! I literally had no clue you went to this camp,” Percy exclaimed.

On instinct, Annabeth’s fists clenched, and she dug her nails into her palms. She couldn’t stand to watch him, as he replaced her. If Percy wanted to focus his attention on Rachel instead of Annabeth, or Grover and the quest, then so be it. Here she was, worrying about his safety, while he was gushing over some other girl. 

She sighed and blew out the breath she was holding, trying to calm down. Annabeth knew she wasn’t being fair to him; he hadn’t really done anything wrong. On top of that, Rachel wasn’t just some girl trying to steal him away, she was a good friend of hers and a good person, but none of that mattered right now. She was upset and jealous, and her feelings were hurt. She was already terrified by the prospect that Percy could be hurt on the quest, or that she might have to reveal her feelings to him and hearing the prophecy had completely frayed her patience and rationality. Seeing Rachel and Percy together had only added fuel to the fire, and now she was passed the point of return. She wasn’t thinking logically like a child of Athena should, she knew she was allowing her emotions to cloud her judgement, but she had never been good at controlling her passion or anger. She didn’t want to feel bitter, but she simply was. And when she was feeling resentful and upset, she lashed out, because she didn’t know how else to process the storm brewing inside her.

She managed, with a clenched jaw, to give them a tight smile. “Well, you guys enjoy catching up, I have some actual work to get done. I don’t know if you forgot, but our friend is missing,” she snapped.

She didn’t give them a chance to response, turning away and stalking back towards her cabin. She was tired and angry, and she wanted to sleep before making any decisions about the quest. She heard Percy call after her, which sparked hope in her chest, but she pushed it down and kept walking. She could hear him getting closer and she ignored it until eventually she felt a large hand wrap around her wrist and tug her back.

“Annabeth, please,” Percy begged, breathing heavily, confusion plain on his features.

She pushed him off, “what? What do you want Percy?” she snarled fiercely.

He flinched and it felt like a stab to heart knowing that she hurt him, but she pushed that feeling aside to. She was upset with him, with Rachel and with the whole situation, and she wouldn’t allow his adorable, sparkling eyes to sway her anymore.

“I- I don’t understand, what’s wrong?” he pleaded.

She scoffed, “are you serious?”

His face was so open and honest as he shook his head innocently, and she wanted so badly to just forget the whole thing.

Instead she answered harshly, “gods you really are an idiot. Grover is missing but you’re too busy flirting with the first pretty girl that’s actually interested in you, and suddenly you’ve forgotten all about the quest.”

She knew it was mean and cruel, she knew she went too far, but she was worked up and in a bad mood. A momentary flash of hurt passed over his face and he stepped back from her like she had slapped him. Then he set his jaw and his eyes turned stony, a calm look of total indifference taking over his features. It was an expression she had never seen on him and especially never directed towards her. He had only ever gazed at Annabeth with care and trust, and she had broken that now.

“What are you even talking about? Rachel is my friend; I was just saying ‘hi’ to her because I haven’t seen her in years. I want to find Grover just as badly as you do,” he barked back, with a hard voice.

“Well you have a funny way of showing it!” she shouted. 

She knew that she was in the wrong, but her pride was hurt, and her emotions were running wild. The situation had quickly escalated out of hand and she didn’t know if they could piece it back together again. 

He pointed an accusing finger in her direction, “I have been nothing but nice since I’ve gotten here but you have been looking for a reason to get mad at me from the first day we met and just don’t know why you hate me so much?” he rasped. He took a deep calming breath, “I, I thought we were friends,” he finished sadly.

Her heart cracked but she was too far gone, too riled up to back down, no matter how much she wished she would. It was like an out-of-body experience, knowing that she was doing the wrong thing, but actively deciding to do it anyway.

“Well maybe you were wrong about that,” she uttered painfully.

She turned and raced down the hill again, so that she didn’t have to watch Percy’s reaction. Seeing the pain and betrayal on his face, that was put there by her, would have crushed her. She slammed the door behind her as soon as she made it to her cabin and flung herself face down on her bed, ignoring the inquisitive looks of her siblings. Gods Percy was so fucking infuriating. He was so dense and clueless, and too innocent and sweet for his own good. And she was so stupid too. She groaned into her pillow in frustration. Anger coursed through her veins, but it was directed at herself now. She wasn’t actually mad at Percy for wanting to catch up with his friend, she was mad that he made her feel all these feelings for him and she couldn’t do a goddamn thing about it. She was sad that he didn’t like her in the same way that she liked him. She was hurt that he might instead feel all those things for someone else. She was angry that she had no right to be angry. She was terrified of what was to come on their quest, and what the prophecy may mean for Percy and herself. It all just piled up, and it was too much weight on her shoulders; she couldn’t bear it. She wanted to cling to her bitterness and pride and push him out of her life, but she also couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing him anymore. She felt a constant physical ache in her chest when she was around him, knowing that he would only ever view her as a friend. But now she wasn’t even that anymore, she had messed that up too. Gods she was dumb.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people, thanks for all the feedback. Keep commenting your thoughts, I love to hear them.

She woke up the next morning full of regret and shame. Now that her anger, and resentment, and envy, and adrenaline, and fear, and everything else that had made her emotions go crazy, had time to subside, she just felt embarrassed. Before she fell asleep, last night, she had managed to calm her racing heart enough to do some sensible thinking. Ignoring their fight, and her jealousy, she still didn’t think it was a good idea for Percy to join her on the quest. The danger was simply too high. The prophecy basically told her that if Percy came along, he wouldn’t survive to see the end of it. And if he did somehow pull through, then she would have to divulge her biggest secret to him. She just wasn’t prepared to risk that. If the prophecy required a child of the big three, maybe she could ask Nico. She didn’t want the son of Hades to get hurt either, but the prophecy had said a love would perish, and although she liked him like a brother, she certainly didn’t feel any romantic feelings towards him. On top of that, being forced to admit her biggest secret to Nico wouldn’t be nearly as humiliating. If the son of Hades couldn’t do it, then she would just go on her own, the prophecy be damned.

She dressed slowly that morning, she knew she had to apologize to Percy if she wanted any chance of salvaging their relationship. She’d rather have him as a friend, even if it was sometimes painful, rather than not at all.

Piper was waiting at the door as usual, when she stepped out, the sun much too bright for her liking.

“Jesus, you look like shit,” Piper exclaimed.

“Thanks,” Annabeth grumbled.

“Sorry. Are you okay though?” Piper asked.

“I got in a fight with Percy last night,” she admitted glumly.

Piper stared at her, trying to read her expression. “So, I guess we’re not waking him up this morning?”

“Actually, I still want to go to his cabin. I should apologize, it was my fault,” Annabeth admitted.

“What happened?” Piper questioned.

Annabeth trusted Piper almost more than anyone else in the world, so she didn’t hesitate to spill the whole story. She explained her jealousy about the campers and Rachel, and her fears about the full prophecy, and her unjustified anger at Percy for not returning her feelings, all of it.

Piper blew out a breath when Annabeth finished.

“So, you may have overreacted just a little bit, but I think you can save this thing,” Piper decided, as they stepped up the steps of Cabin 3.

If Annabeth had been nervous yesterday to knock on Percy’s door, then she was absolutely terrified today. With a shaky hand she rapped on the door, and it swung open almost immediately to reveal Percy behind it. He wasn’t looking much better than she was, with dark bags under his eyes. She looked at him tentatively and he held her gaze. He didn’t look quite as angry as yesterday, but he wasn’t giving her his usual blinding smile either. 

She looked at him sheepishly, “hey,” she muttered meekly.

“Hey,” he responded in a strained voice.

She offered a small, tentative smile but it was stilted. How had they fallen so far in such a short amount of time?

“I’m, um, sorry for yesterday,” she said quietly.

His eyebrows raised in surprised, obviously he hadn’t been expecting her to apologize so willingly. 

“I’m going to head down to the meeting so you guys can talk,” Piper told them, and she fled before they could respond.

Percy closed his door behind him, and they walked slowly side by side.

“I’m sorry I lost it on you. The prophecy just really freaked me out, and I was scared and stressed, and I just took it out on the first person I saw. I’m sorry,” she rambled.

Percy nodded and gave her a small smile, and she thought she might cry. She had missed that smile so much.

“It’s okay, I get it. I should’ve been more considerate about the prophecy and the quest. I got distracted by Rachel and I should’ve been focused on helping Grover,” he offered.

Of course, he was still trying to apologize even when he did nothing wrong. Typical.

“No, no, Percy, seriously, it’s my fault. You had every right to talk to a friend you hadn’t seen in years. Anyone would’ve reacted that way, I don’t blame you at all. I know you care about Grover too,” she insisted.

His smile grew even bigger and he extended a hand, waiting for her to shake it, “so we’re good then?”

She’s not sure what made her do it. It might have been because she was so relieved to see that his expression full of care and affection had returned; or, maybe it was because she was still stressed about the prophecy, but she extended her arms, asking for a hug.

For the second time that day, she had surprised him. He looked at her for a moment, like he was checking that a hug was what she really wanted. When she didn’t waver, he stepped forward and enveloped her in a crushing embrace. She melted into him, warmth radiating off his strong body. Her head nuzzled right under his chin and once again it felt like they fit together perfectly, two broken pieces being glued back together. She felt safe in his arms, like no one could hurt her when she was wrapped in him. It was another thing that she adored about him. Despite only having known each other for a few months, he felt like safety, like home. She pulled back slowly, releasing him reluctantly. 

“Um, so we should probably get down there before the meeting starts without us,” she said. 

She could still feel the lingering sensation of his hands gripping her sides, and the sound of his firm heartbeat beneath her ear.

His cheeks were beet red, but his eyes crinkled happily, and he had a big smile on his face, he looked beautiful. He simply nodded and they raced towards the big house together.

The meeting had just begun when they arrived, so they snuck in quietly and took their seats.

“Ah, Annabeth, welcome. Could you recite the prophecy for us, my dear?” Chiron asked as soon as he spotted her.

She looked over at Piper with a worried expression. If she told them the full prophecy, Percy might figure out that she liked him. Thinking on the fly, she edited some of the lines while repeating them aloud.

“Sure, uh. It said, ‘to retrieve what you seek, you must go west. A son of the big three will join the quest. You will break the most scared number and only go with one other,’” she paused. “And um, then it ended with, ‘Gods will inevitably get in the way, a plan of manipulation is at play, save a friend and gain two, but one will not return with you,’” she finished.

The campers around the table murmured quietly amongst themselves.

“That sounds pretty short. Was that all of it?” Clarisse questioned.

“Yup,” Annabeth curtly, trying to quickly shut down any more of that line of questioning.

“Well aside from the last line, that sounds fairly positive,” Chiron decided. “If you are to go with one other, I suppose that means only you and Percy.”

She looked over at the son of Poseidon who was giving her a beautiful, generous smile. 

“No,” she choked out, avoiding Percy’s eyes.

His expression immediately fell and turned confused and a little upset.

“No?” Chiron questioned. “I thought yesterday we agreed that you and Percy would go together.”

Her heart broke but she could see no other way to convince Percy not to come along on the quest.

“I- I don’t think he’s ready for this yet. I would prefer going with Nico. He is also a son of the big three and he is more experienced,” she said, trying to instill confidence in her tone.

She ripped her gaze away from Percy, when she saw just how betrayed he looked, and kept her eyes trained on the table.

“What? No, I’m ready, and we already decided yesterday that I could go,” Percy complained to the centaur.

Chiron nodded in agreement, “unfortunately Annabeth, Nico and Will left this morning to visit Bianca and the Hunters. He is not available for the quest. I think Percy will be an asset to you, he can certainly hold his own.”

Her spirits fell, Percy couldn’t come, she wouldn’t have him die because of her. 

“Fine, I’ll go alone, I don’t need help anyway. I’ll be faster and stealthier on my own,” she insisted more firmly.

“The prophecy clearly states that you must go with one other person, and if it is not Nico then it must be Percy,” Chiron stated.

“No, I don’t want to go with him” she tried desperately. 

Her eyes searched for Piper and she saw that friend was giving her a sympathetic look while everyone else just looked confused. Percy who had been crouched down right next to her, now leaned away and sat stick straight. She chanced a glance at his face and her distress only grew. He looked so hurt and anguished, and she wished she could just explain everything to him. But even if she warned him that he would probably die on the quest, he would still insist on coming anyway, that’s just the type of person he was.

“Annabeth,” Chiron chastised, “I’m afraid if you can’t give a valid reason as to why, I must insist.”

She huffed, obviously she couldn’t convince them. She would have to resort to plan B, sneak away tonight, without Percy. Hopefully she would be far enough away from camp before anyone realized that it would be too late to stop her.

“Fine,” she groaned frustratedly.

“Good that is settled then. Both of you pack tonight, you will leave first thing tomorrow morning. Annabeth, you have your license so you can take the van. Obviously by west, the prophecy must mean that you should head towards California where Grover was last heard from. I will give you a map with his last known location, some supplies and hopefully enough money to get you there and back. Are we in agreement?” Chiron asked.

She and Percy both nodded silently.

“Good, go prepare and rest. You have a difficult task ahead of you,” the centaur finished, and everyone stood.

Annabeth scrambled up and tried to rush out of the room before Percy could catch up to her. She had almost reached her cabin when he caught up to her.

“Annabeth!” he shouted.

She had no choice but to turn slowly and face him. She couldn’t even look at him, it hurt too much.

“What? What the hell was that? I thought we made up. You said we were good,” Percy questioned.

“This isn’t about our stupid fight Percy. I have my reasons, I’m sorry, I just don’t think you should come on the quest with me,” she said quietly

He frowned angrily, “I don’t get you at all. Gods, you’re so infuriating sometimes. I’m trying really hard to be understanding but you don’t make any sense,” he exclaimed.

Her annoyance and exasperation began to rise at his words. “Well it shouldn’t be hard to understand this, I. Don’t. Want. You. To. Come,” she spelled out.

She could feel that she was getting angry. She could never let an argument go, she always felt like she had to defend herself fiercely, it was her pride getting in the way once again. She couldn’t understand why Percy wouldn’t just let it go. He was being needlessly stubborn, and he was going to get himself killed just to prove a point.

“Well too bad, you heard Chiron, I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not,” he snarled.

“Yeah well, we’ll see about that,” she snapped and tore into her cabin. She got one last glimpse of him as she slammed the door in his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait folks. Let me know if you're still enjoying. 
> 
> Also just a heads up, I know nothing about the U.S. in terms of car travel because I'm from Canada, so some of the driving distances might be inaccurate.
> 
> Thanks for reading.

Annabeth had all her supplies, money and clothing prepped and ready to go as she settled in for bed. She had searched for her Yankees cap all over while she packed, but to no avail; it was missing. She didn’t have any more time to look around camp, before curfew so with a defeated sigh, she resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn’t have it for the trip. 

It felt like she was only asleep for a couple minutes before she jolted awake. Checking her alarm clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was around 3 o’clock in the morning. She rose slowly and dressed in comfortable jeans and a clean CHB shirt; the perfect outfit for a long and difficult quest. 

As quietly as she could, she grabbed the keys and her bags, before sneaking out of her cabin and through the camp. She threw her luggage in the back and paused with her hand on the door. She turned to give one last look over the quiet campgrounds, before shutting the trunk softly. 

She pulled out a map and set it on her lap, tracing her path from New York to California. It would be at least a two-day drive and that was without bathroom and food breaks or stops for sleeping. She sighed and slumped deeper into her chair; she was in a for a long trip.

She took off in a hurry and as trees whipped by, she let her mind wander to Percy, as it always did eventually. She felt guilty that she had left him behind, he would be so pissed when he woke up tomorrow to realize she had already left without him, but it was necessary. She hoped that when she got back, maybe he’d be so happy that Grover was safe that he would forget that he was so angry at her. It seemed unlikely. She really wished he could’ve come along and under different circumstances, she would’ve jumped at the chance to spend one on one time with him in such close quarters. She pictured what it would be like if they were just two normal teenagers, taking a cross country trip together, having the time of their lives, as best friends. Maybe she would even have enough courage to tell him how she felt, maybe they would be a couple in this alternate universe. It sounded pretty perfect, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on. She wasn’t a normal teenager and she would never have that normal life. Although being a demigod was practically impossible at the best of times, she wouldn’t give it up for anything. She loved camp, she loved her friends, and she loved that nothing was ever boring; she loved her life. All of this didn’t mean that she missed Percy any less. 

She was so distracted by her thoughts of him that the map almost went sliding off her legs, but she caught it at the last minute. She tossed it off to her right, but rather than landing on the passenger seat like she had hoped, it bounced off and fell to the floor instead. 

“Shit,” she muttered. 

With the map now out of her reach she wasn’t sure which road to take next. Spotting a gas station ahead, she pulled in and parked. She got out of the van and walked around to the other side. She paused for a moment when she noticed two kids around her age, sitting together in a car across from her. They looked so happy and carefree; it just made her think of Percy even more. She could imagine how he might’ve looked with the window rolled down, wind billowing through his dark locks. Or the morning sun casting a warm glow on his handsome face. 

She sighed and turned back to the van, throwing open the passenger side door. For a moment, she envisioned Percy sitting in the seat. He looked so tangible and real, she wished so badly for it to be true. She stared at his face, which smiled sheepishly back at her and slowly it began to dawn on her.

“What the fuck?” she mumbled confused.

She blinked and rubbed her eyes to double check, but Percy was still there.

“Hey,” he said quietly, shrugging his shoulders guiltily.

“What the actual fuck?” she said louder this time.

He offered a sheepish smile, “I was planning on staying hidden the whole way, but it was very cramped in the back, I had to stretch my legs,”

“What are you doing here?” she was snapped harshly.

“I- I knew you were going to try and leave without me, so I stole your hat when you were at training and I snuck into the trunk while you were throwing in your bags,” he admitted.

She was at a loss for words, “I don’t. I can’t believe you. We have to go back; we have to turn around.”

Percy shook his head, “no, it’s too late, we’re too far from camp. We’ll lose precious time if we go back now, and Grover needs our help as soon as possible. Sorry, Wise Girl, but I’m here to stay,” he said resolutely.

“I don’t care, you’re not coming with me,” she said stubbornly. “You can get out here and walk back.”

“Would you really leave me out here?” he asked with an infuriating smirk.

“Yes,” she told him without hesitation, but she was already going back to the driver’s seat and hopping in.

She slammed the door shut behind her and gripped the wheel angrily. She refused to look at him.

“If we survive this, I swear to gods, I am going to kill you when we get back,” she threatened.

“And if we don’t survive?” he questioned.

“I’ll still kill you,” she decided.

He smirked at her again. Normally his little mischievous smiles made her want to kiss him but right now she was too angry at him to even think about that. Those grins instead reminded her of how stubborn he was being. Okay, so it may have still crossed her mind that he looked really hot and he was kind of turning her on, but that wasn’t important right now. 

She shifted into gear and started driving again.

“Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, don’t ask questions. We’re going to save Grover and find those two demigods, and that’s it. Do not distract me,” she told him firmly.

“Am I normally distracting?” he asked smugly.

“No, shut up,” she responded lamely.

He leaned over the console towards her, and his intoxicating smell of chocolate chip cookies and sea salt wafted towards her, taking over her senses. She gripped the wheel even harder, trying to ignore it.

“Why are you so angry at me? You’re the one who snuck out and basically said that I was useless in front of everyone,” he asked.

She stayed silent for a moment because she couldn’t really give him a valid answer without revealing the whole issue with the prophecy.

“I didn’t say you were useless; I just didn’t want you to come on this specific quest,” she conceded, her tone softening slightly.

“Why?” he said quizzically.

“It doesn’t matter now because you’re here anyway,” she answered.

He leaned back and didn’t speak again; they drove in tense silence for a while. She felt bad, she could understand why he was so confused, but she was still upset with him for tricking her. There was also this constant fear gripping at her heart with the knowledge that he might die on the quest and it would be her fault. 

After an hour of quiet driving, she could sense Percy’s ADHD starting to act up, because he began fiddling with the things all around him. He put his feet up on the dash, and she shoved them down, he turned on the radio and she shut it off, he played with the windows and she clicked on the child’s lock.

He huffed in frustration, “how long have we been driving? I’m hungry,” he complained.

“You’re always hungry,” she shot back.

“When can we eat?” he continued.

“Gods, have you always been this annoying or did I just fail to notice?” she said spitefully. 

She was annoyed with him, but not because of his playful questions. She was annoyed that he was being stubborn and insisted on getting himself killed, and she just couldn’t let it go.

He just laughed good-naturedly, “I’ve always been annoying but I tried to hide it for your sake because I’m nice person, but now that I know that my niceness is being unappreciated, I’ve decided not hold back anymore, this is the real me,” he answered.

“Lucky me,” she muttered.

“So, I’ve been thinking…” he started

“Was that hard for you?” she quipped.

He ignored her snide comment, because he was too nice to her, and even though he should be furious with her, he was still trying to be friendly. It was infuriating. She was mad at him, but she also wanted him to be angry with her, or else it felt one sided. She felt like she was being too harsh, and he was being too forgiving.

“I’ve been thinking that we need gas soon,” he said, pointing at the van’s gage which was on low. “So, we can stop for food at the same time, it’s a win/win situation,” he explained.

She knew he would only continue to bother her, so she gave in, “Fine, but don’t get too much. Chiron didn’t give us that much money, so we need to be careful with what we buy,” she told him sternly.

He brightened immediately and began bouncing on his seat excitedly like a toddler. It was very cute, and she wished she could stay angry with him, but it was very difficult when he was so adorable. She had to keep reminding herself that she should be unhappy that he was here, and not enjoying herself.

They pulled into another gas station, with a McDonald’s right across the road. She began to fill up, while Percy ran to grab some breakfast. He returned just as she had finished pumping, and they hopped back in the van simultaneously.

He handed her a bag and a cup as he got in.

“I, um, I got you black coffee, I think you said that was your favorite. And I bought a bagel for you because I saw you steal Piper’s at the dining pavilion a couple times, so I hope this is okay. I can run back in and get something else if you want,” he rambled.

She sighed and took them both with a nod. How did he do that? One minute he was this confident, smirking guy and then the next minute he turned into a nervous, stuttering boy, and both were equally endearing. She tried not to care too much that he seemed to have memorized these minor details about her. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember that the Big Dipper was actually named Ursa Major, as she had taught him a million times, but somehow, he knew all these random facts about her. Her cheeks burned at the thought, and she avoided his eyes as she took a sip of the coffee.

“This is perfect, thanks,” she mumbled.

He smiled generously, “good. Let me know if you want me to take over the driving at some point,” he said and then turned to look out the window, leaning his head against the glass.

She didn’t respond for a while. She wished she could tell him everything, he deserved the truth. He was being too good to her with the way she had been treating him. The weight of holding onto all these secrets pressed down on her chest, desperate to burst out. She wanted to tell him about the quest, and about her feelings, but she couldn’t. But maybe she could tell him half-truths; tell him only part of the story.

“I’m just worried that you’ll get hurt,” she confessed quietly.

He turned to face her, “anyone could get hurt on a quest. You can’t let that fear rule your life,” he answered, equally as soft.

“You’re right,” she told him, but she felt like a hypocrite saying it.

She took a deep breath and continued. “I don’t have a lot of important people left in my life. Thalia and Luke, they left, my dad has his own family now. I never see my mom, except when we visit Mount Olympus like twice a year. I only have Piper and Leo and Grover and…” she paused, “and you. I don’t want to lose anyone.”

He reached over and squeezed her free hand, and her heart stopped for a moment. “You won’t lose me, or Grover, or anyone else. We’ll take care of each other, and we’re all going to come back from this,” he told her firmly, and maybe she believed him a little bit.

She tried not to ponder too much on the fact that he didn’t remove his hand, and so they kept driving with their fingers clasped together.

He cleared his throat, “this is too serious. You want to be an architect, right? Tell me more about that,” he asked, trying to change the subject.

A smile twisted at her lips. “Yeah, hopefully one day. I think my dad would prefer I follow in his footsteps or something. And Luke always told me I should choose something more practical, but I love it you know? I think it’s my way of building something permanent, since most things in my life have been so temporary. There’s really nothing else I want to do,” she confessed.

He frowned a little at her words, “then you do it. Who cares what those other people say,” he responded and her grin grew even wider.

“Thanks,” she mumbled shyly.

The day passed by quickly after that. They took turns driving and exchanging stories. Her fear remained but her anger faded, as she spoke to him. He seemed to have this calming effect on her. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long, all he had to do was flash those beautiful green eyes or those adorable dimples and she was putty in his hands once again. 

They took minimal breaks along the way, but when they entered into Iowa, they started thinking about resting for the night.

“Do we want to get a hotel?” Percy asked nervously.

“I’m honestly not sure we’ll have enough money, especially if we’ll be taking at least one or two more rest breaks before arriving in California,” she explained.

“So, do we want the hotel tonight, or another night?” he asked.

“Maybe we should save it until we reach California, so we’re well rested before we have to save Grover and fight monsters and do other quest things,” she responded.

Percy nodded and thus they decided to camp out in the van. She was taking the open trunk, while he laid down on the lowered passenger seat. It was tight, uncomfortable and a little too intimate. She tried not to think about Percy’s presence too much, but it was difficult when he was right there, so within reach. She watched his strong chest rise and fall, taking comfort in his breathing, and trying to match her own to it. He looked peaceful with his hair flopping on his forehead and his eyes closed and face clear. He looked so soft and adorable that it was hard to look away. She loved getting to see this side of him; she yearned to fall asleep and wake up to him like this every day.

“You still awake?” he asked quietly, breaking her out of her daze.

“Yeah,” she whispered back to him.

He didn’t continue but she could see that something was weighing on him.

“Are you okay?” she questioned, when he didn’t speak up.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about my mom. I said I was going to visit her every weekend, but I’ve only seen her twice since I started at camp. I’m just feeling like a bad son,” he admitted.

“You’re not a bad son,” Annabeth insisted. “You’ve just been busy. You’ve been learning a new routine, you’ve been making new friends and catching up on lessons, that’s a lot to take on.”

She couldn’t even imagine how Percy thought he wasn’t a good kid. He loved his mom more than anyone, it was actually very endearing how much he cared about her. He talked about her all the time.

“She’s just been through a lot. I don’t want to forget everything she’s done for me,” he explained, getting caught on the words.

“You haven’t forgotten Percy,” she stated.

He took a deep shaky breath, “my old step-dad was an awful person. I hated him more than anything for he did to us. My mom finally got rid of him and she’s with Paul now, and he’s great but that hurt is still there, you know? It never really goes away completely,” he explained, tears pooling in his eyes.

She sucked in a breath, Percy didn’t elaborate further, but she could hear the undertones in his voice, the suggestion of what that horrible man did to their family. She tried to school her anger, but she shook with fury at the thought. She would never wish death on anyone, but she had a hard time convincing herself that this guy didn’t deserve it. Percy was the sweetest, most generous, genuine and caring person she had ever met, maybe a little dense and annoying at times, but she liked those things about him too. He somehow managed to make qualities that she often found tiresome in other people, the most charming and attractive parts of his personality. She could only imagine that his mom was an equally amazing person. Anyone who was able to do something like that to them deserved to end up in the underworld, punished for eternity.

Percy tried to wipe at his eyes before she could notice, but she saw the pain in his face. She clambered up from her makeshift bed and grabbed a hold of his hand. 

“I’m sorry,” she said simply, she knew there was nothing she could say that would make it better.

He nodded gratefully, “thank you, ‘Beth,” he mumbled so quietly she almost didn’t hear it.

Her heart squeezed at the nickname. Maybe Leo was right, when Percy used it, she had no problem with it. For him she would make an exception, something about it sounded so intimate, like something a boyfriend might call her. Her cheeks warmed at the thought, but she tried not to focus on it, there were more important matters at hand, she could freak out about it later. 

“Maybe, you can visit her when we get back,” she offered to him.

“Yeah, I think I will do that,” he said more happily now. “Hopefully, she’ll make her blue pancakes, they’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I’ll even bring back some of her blue cookies for you,” he added.

She scrunched her eyebrows, “why blue?”

He laughed, and it sent the usual shock through her body. She would never get tired of hearing that sound.

“Gabe always told us food couldn’t be blue, so my mom and I started making all of our meals blue just to spite him, and now it’s sort of become a tradition,” he explained.

“I can’t say I’ve ever tried blue food,” she decided.

He gasped jokingly, “you are missing out, everything tastes better when it’s blue.”

She laughed with him, “so I’m guessing blue is your favorite colour?”

His wide grin dipped a little, turning into a shy smile. “Um yeah, although grey has recently made a real case for itself,” he said, not quite looking her in the face.

“Grey? Why grey? Literally no one’s favorite colour is grey,” she exclaimed.

“I beg to differ, there are some amazing variations of grey. There’s storm cloud grey that holds all the intensity of the unrestrained sea, and there’s light grey which borders on blue that looks like the ocean on a cold morning, or there’s silvery grey that reminds you of excitement and being alive. Those are the greys that I have in mind,” he uttered, now looking directly in her eyes.

She stared back at him, and finally realized, oh. Oh. Her eyes? Was he talking about her eyes? 

She tore her gaze away from him and a deep blush took to her cheeks. Her mind reeled, did he like her or not, she wondered. She was so confused. She prided herself on being able to read people but for some reason she could never be sure with Percy. It felt like maybe he had the same feelings as her, but what if she was wrong and she fucked everything up between them?

“Um, yeah, that makes sense. Grey is nice. Anyways, I’m going to bed,” she said flustered, and quickly removed her hand from his, turned her back to him, and settled into her pillow.

She could almost feel his satisfied smirk behind her, like he lived for those moments when he could unsettle her. It felt like he was trying to hint to something, but she didn’t want to read it wrong. If Percy kept flirting with her like that, she’s not sure she’d be able to keep resisting him. It was already hard not to throw herself at him when he was just acting like his regular old self, but now it felt impossible. Gods this was going to be a long trip.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitches be getting real horny, and yearn the hell out of each in this chapter. Also, we finally get some Percy POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your comments and kudos, it really helps keep me motivated.

She woke the next morning with the sun shining directly on her face. She blinked slowly and gradually opened her eyes, looking around the van. Her gaze flickered over to Percy who was already looking back at her, with a soft, adoring smile on his lips. Her own mouth quirked up automatically in response.

“Morning,” he said in a low, gravelly voice, still full of sleep. 

Oh fuck. A flash of heat was sent straight to her core at the sound of it. 

“Hey,” she responded, her voice hoarse.

Percy sat up from his seat and stretched his back, showing off his straining biceps. She bit at the inside of her cheek to stop any sounds from coming out of her mouth, as she stared at the delicious sight of him. He wore a form fitting t-shirt which showed off every single one of his muscles, and a grey pair of sweatpants that just felt like he was trying to purposefully torture her. She had heard that girls often found this particular item of clothing extremely attractive on guys because it showed off a nice outline of their… you know what. And she tried not to look, she really did, but Annabeth was a naturally curious person, with a thirst for knowledge, compliments of her mother. She couldn’t help but want to know everything about Percy, even these more private aspects of him. She would be lying though, if she didn’t say she that she was looking for completely selfish reasons. Her eyes flickered down quickly while he continued to stretch, and gods, the rumors were true. Her mouth watered at the sight, the defined line, the prominent line, the large and long line. She forced her eyes away and turned around to hide her rosy cheeks, but it did nothing to quell her growing hunger for him.

It was becoming harder and harder each day to stop her wandering thoughts before they really took root in her mind. Although it was not the most eloquent term, she was horny and frustrated, and there was only one person she wanted to solve her issue, but he was unfortunately unaware of her internal struggle, so she was stuck suffering in silence. 

“We should get moving again,” he prompted.

All she could do was nod, since her brain was still hazy and clouded.

They continued on their drive, stopping as little as possible, aside for food, which meant that they were making good time. The trip went by just as quickly on their second day as it did on their first, filling it with easy conversations and laughter.

Percy made her feel light and content, in a way that no one had ever really made her feel before. It was a wildly different sensation then how she had felt with Luke. Admittedly, she used to have a crush on her childhood friend, but it always felt like a distant, unattainable thing. As much as she liked Luke, he could be cold, and uncaring at times, nothing like Percy. The boy sitting in the passenger seat was all warmth and goodness, a true beating heart. So far, she had only had two major crushes in her life, but whenever she felt strongly about someone, she became all nervous and awkward. She was normally a very level-headed person, leading her life with intellect and reason, but when she really liked someone, she became the polar opposite of her normal, clear-headed and confident self. At first, she could barely even talk to Luke when he was around, and now with Percy, she was always tripping over her words and blushing. The difference, however, was that she and Luke never got passed that point, even when her feelings had faded, they still didn’t really talk much. They checked in on each other from time to time, but she couldn’t really confide in him, she couldn’t joke around with him. But with Percy, even when she was a stuttering mess or completely red in the face, she could still talk to him, they laughed, she poked fun at him, they shared stories, they revealed things to each other, she felt connected to him. Luke might have been the perfect guy for her on paper; he was charming, smart, handsome and he had his life together, but Percy, gods he was everything that really mattered. Her feelings for him were so much deeper than they had ever been for Luke, or for anyone, they were all encompassing. It was really becoming an issue.

Eventually they had to stop for gas again, so while she pumped, Percy threw out the garbage and wrappers that had piled up over the duration of their drive. When they were finished, together they walked into the gas station to pay and stock up on more snacks. 

A small cluster of teenage girls, probably around 15 or 16 years old, were sifting through the aisles when they entered. The group looked up immediately when the door’s bell dinged, they’re judgemental eyes raking over Percy and herself. 

Annabeth couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious, what was it about a group of teenagers that made you feel inadequate in their presence? She couldn’t explain it, but her two-day old clothing and unwashed hair, did nothing to help her confidence in this moment. 

She didn’t have to worry about their unwanted attention however, because they were all too busy gawking at Percy, who hadn’t even noticed them yet; he was too busy picking out a bag of blue Jolly Ranchers from the rack. Annabeth rolled her eyes, she had just about had it with people losing it over this guy. She gets it, he’s hot. She thought the same thing when she first met him, she still thinks it, but gods almighty, it was tiring to watch people lust over him all the damn time. She already had to deal with her own unruly feelings and yearning for him, this was too much to deal with. 

She wanted to mark her territory somehow, as ridiculous as that sounded. She wished she could thread her fingers with his and pull him close or suck red marks up and down his neck so people would know that he was taken, except for the unfortunate fact that he was not actually taken.

Instead, Annabeth grabbed his arm and wrenched him away from girls who were giggling and sneaking closer to him. He looked up confused but didn’t question her as she tugged him towards the counter. She slapped down 40$ and all of the snacks Percy had managed to grab while he was getting dragged up the aisle. The greasy-looking cashier, a guy maybe in his early 20’s, looked up from his phone. He swept his eyes up and down Annabeth’s form, clearly checking her out, and she felt herself shiver uncomfortably. He smirked and leaned forward on the counter, bringing the smell of stale cigarettes with him.

“Pump 2,” she told him, failing to feign politeness.

The cashier nodded, “is there anything else I can get for you?” he asked, while very clearly staring at her boobs.

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned away from him as far as she could manage.

“Nope, that’s all thanks,” she said curtly, trying to make it obvious that she was uninterested.

She looked over and noticed that Percy was stiff as a board, unmoving except for the slight tremor in his clenched fists.

“You okay?” she whispered quietly to him, and he only offered a tight nod as an answer.

“Are you sure sweetheart? I have plenty I could give you,” the cashier tried again, bringing her attention back to him. 

She immediately frowned in disgust but before she could respond angrily, Percy slid an arm over her shoulder protectively and pulled her into him, which sent a thrill through her whole body. Heat pooled deep in her stomach, and her eyes fluttered closed as she breathed him in, but she forced them open after a moment; she couldn’t be daydreaming about him right now.

“She said that’s all we need, so just give us our change, and we’ll go,” Percy told the guy, his voice clearly upset.

The cashier ignored Percy and looked back at her, “are you sure you don’t want to try me out some time?” he asked with a wink, subtlety now completely abandoned.

Annabeth nearly gagged at the thought, and Percy was seething beside her, his left eye twitching. 

In a low voice, full of barely controlled rage, Percy threatened, “give us our fucking money, asshole, or I swear to all the gods…” 

The cashier obviously saw something in Percy’s eyes that made him take the demigod seriously this time, because he scrambled quickly to bag their snacks and pass them their change. Annabeth should’ve been focused on the situation, or the cashier, or the fact that she had never seen Percy this angry before, but all she could think about was how fucking hot he looked right now. Her body thrummed with desire and she felt a throb between her thighs, but she dug her nails into her thumb to prevent herself from pouncing on him right there. She was almost passed the point of caring, she wanted him, badly. 

Percy tore the bag from the cashier’s hands and began to turn them towards the door, before stopping abruptly, just a few feet from the exit. 

He spun back around, “actually, I want you to apologize to her before we leave,” Percy demanded the cashier, pointing at Annabeth.

“What?” the guy asked in confusion.

“You’re a creep, and you were staring at her and hitting on her, when she in no way prompted it or asked for your sexual advances. She is a person, not just some object for you to fuck around with, so, I’ll ask again, apologize to her. NOW,” Percy practically shouted.

The cashier jumped slightly, and then looked down at his shoes, “sorry,” he mumbled pathetically.

Percy turned back towards the door, with Annabeth in tow, and tugged them outside. She faced him and noticed that he was breathing heavily, his gaze unfocused and angry. She waited for him to calm down, she wasn’t entirely sure what had set him off like this. He was usually the chill one out of the two of them; roll with the punches type of guy. She could have easily kicked the cashier’s ass if she had wanted to, and she just might have if Percy hadn’t cut in. She didn’t need him to act as her saviour, no matter how attractive it was, but she did appreciate the sentiment behind his actions. Finally, Percy locked eyes with her, after what felt like hours, but was probably only a few seconds, and his harsh gaze began to melt away.

“Are you okay? Sorry, I know you didn’t need me to defend you, but that guy was a pig and he deserved much worse than that,” Percy asked softly, the anger in his voice now completely gone as he addressed her.

She nodded and a small smile grew on her lips, somehow, he had known exactly what she had been thinking. He knew that she didn’t need his help, he recognized her strength, he knew she could handle herself, but he had wanted to defend her anyway. She didn’t know if he was jealous, or if he was just especially passionate about men treating her respectfully, but either way, it was a good look on him. She’d like to think that maybe he was a little jealous, just like she had been with those teenaged girls, and Rachel, and the campers, and so on; the list was too long at this point, but she couldn’t know for sure.

“I’m fine, Seaweed Brain. Let’s just get out of here,” she said with a roll of her eyes, in an attempt to downplay her true feelings. 

He nodded in agreement and soon they were on the road once again. 

They couldn’t afford to make too many more stops, they had gotten lucky, extremely lucky, that they hadn’t been attacked by any monsters thus far, and she knew that this luck likely wouldn’t last for long. As she thought about it, she realized just how strange it was that their route to California had been so unencumbered. There were only two of them on the quest rather than the typical three, which may have lessened their scent, but she and Percy were both older and powerful demigods, which should’ve drawn the attention of monsters from all over. If she didn’t know any better, she would think that something was blocking their signal, something was preventing those creatures from finding them. Perhaps it had something to do with the line in the prophecy that said, ‘a plan of manipulation is at play.’ She leaned her head against the window, trees whipping by, and she contemplated what all of this could mean.

____________________________________________________

Annabeth was staring out into space, while Percy drove. He tried to keep his eyes focused on the road, but it was practically impossible when she was sitting next to him. It felt like a chore every time he had to take his eyes off of her. 

From the moment he had met her in the Big House on his first day of camp, he had been hooked. He had literally thought she was one of the goddesses, visiting from Olympus, when she had first appeared on the steps. His breath was knocked out of him, and all he could do was stare at her like an idiot. She had the most beautiful blonde curls that reminded him a little bit of a princess, and he had wanted so desperately to run his fingers through it. She had on a tight orange shirt and jean shorts that looked perfect on her athletic body and accentuated her tan legs that went on for miles. He tried not to gape at her for too long, but his hands itched to smooth his fingers over her soft thighs and rub tiny circles on the small glimpse of her flat stomach that peaked beneath her top. Then he took in her eyes and if had thought he was a goner before, then he had no idea what was in store for him. They shone like a swirling storm, gorgeous shades of shifting greys, full of intelligence and calculation. And he couldn’t forget to mention her sinfully full lips that just begged to be kissed, or her adorable button nose, or her long, elegant neck that he wanted to nuzzle his face into, and on and on and on. All in all, he had never seen a more magnificent and angelic creature in the entirety of his life.

His pathetic infatuation with her had only grown over the months at camp. He basically spent all his time following her around like a lost puppy, desperately trying, and failing, to hide his feelings for her. Even when she spent the first few weeks glaring at him angrily and pushing him away, he still thought she was the most amazing person he’d ever met.

She wasn’t just the most stunning woman in the world, she was also insanely smart, with rapidly quick wit. She made him laugh all the time, her dry sense of humour just matched his self-deprecating sarcasm, perfectly. She also held a certain quiet generosity and consideration for the friends, that wasn’t obvious at first glance. She didn’t open up to people easily, but if you gained her trust, she would lay it all on the line for you. She loved with her whole heart, and she protected the people she cared about, no matter what. She was fierce, powerful and incredibly strong, and not just physically, although she could definitely kick his ass if she wanted to. She had been through more in her short 17 years than most people faced in their entire lifetime, and she was still somehow the most well-adjusted and sane person at camp. She was the one everyone relied on and trusted to solve problems. She was forced to carry this insane amount of responsibility and yet she somehow never crumbled under the weight and burden of it. She was also stubborn and prideful, and maybe a little too competitive and he loved it all the same. There was nothing about her that he didn’t like, she was everything. Imperfectly perfect, and he was obsessed to say the least. He had never met anyone like her, and she was so impossibly out of his league it wasn’t even funny.

It was getting harder and harder to conceal his feelings for her, especially now that they were trapped together in close quarters for hours on end. He’s still not sure how she hadn’t figured it out already, he hasn’t hidden it that well. He had called her cute on their very first study session, and last night he had revealed his obsession with her eyes, and then, not even an hour ago, he had gotten insanely jealous and defensive when that cashier tried hitting on her. Percy had probably gone too far and turned her off, he had no right to speak on her behalf, but it was hard to sit back and watch people flirting with her, especially gross men like that guy. She deserved better than that cashier, she deserved better than Percy even, she deserved everything. He had wanted to punch that guy in the face and then pull her in for a kiss, but he opted instead, for the less extreme, arm around the shoulder. 

At this point, she was clearly just ignoring his obvious affection for her to avoid an uncomfortable rejection and the awkward car ride to California which would follow. There was really no other explanation, she was too clever not to have figured out his obsession with her. In summary, Percy had no shot.

They drove mostly in silence until it was dark outside. He could tell that Annabeth was wrapped up in her own thoughts, probably thinking about things that would go completely over his head. It was another reason that he wasn’t good enough for her, she was far too smart for him. Initially, he had tried to keep up, especially with architecture, even doing additional research, which he never ever did, to try and pass as knowledgeable. He could tell that she loved the subject because her eyes lit up and a soft smile adorned her face when she tried explaining it to him, but he was a lost cause. He had no idea what she was talking about most of the time, but he really didn’t care. He was utterly content just listening and it gave him the perfect excuse to stare at her for hours.

They finally decided it was time to sleep again, once they crossed over into Utah. He pulled into an empty lot, away from prying eyes, and parked.

“Should we just sleep in the van again?” he asked Annabeth.

She looked over, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face. “We don’t know what we’ll be facing once we reach California, or how long it will take to find Grover, so I still think we should save the hotel until we actually get there.”

He thought it was a good idea. They were really starting to run low on money, so they needed to save as much as they could. They’d probably be arriving midday sometime tomorrow, so saving the hotel until they got there, sounded like the best plan.

“Okay, I’m good with that,” he told her. 

“I say we drop our stuff off at the hotel once we arrive, and then follow the map to where we last heard from Grover, with whatever daylight we have left,” Annabeth continued.

Percy nodded, “that’s a good idea. We can scope out the area and try to figure out where G-Man would most likely be.”

She nodded; her face still full of contemplation. “Do you think it’s strange we haven’t been attacked by any monsters?” she questioned suddenly.

He considered it, “honestly I hadn’t really thought about it that much but now that you mention it, it is pretty odd. You’re probably one of the most powerful demigods of our generation, so you would think they’d be all over you,” he told her.

She blushed pink, a colour he absolutely adored seeing on her. It was literally the cutest thing he had ever witnessed. He had decided early on into their friendship, that one of his favorite things to do was fluster and embarrass her just so he could see her like that. He hadn’t been lying to her when he said that she was the most powerful person he knew, but he appreciated the benefits that came along with telling her the truth.

“Oh, um right, thanks. Anyway, I think maybe it has something to do with the prophecy, with the line about gods and a plan of manipulation,” Annabeth stuttered out.

She must be right; it was too much of a coincidence not to be true. “You really are like next level smart. It baffles me sometimes,” he chuckled.

Her cheeks deepened to a red, and he tried to hide his satisfied smile, it was almost too easy. She spun away from him and they both began to set up their makeshift beds in the small van.

Eventually she turned back to face him, once her blush had mostly faded. “Do you want me to take the seat this time? There’s probably more room in the trunk for you to spread those long gangly legs of yours,” Annabeth joked.

He laughed, which is something he did a lot around her. She wasn’t like a stand-up, class clown, attention seeking type of comedian, she was sarcastic, sometimes so much so that he missed the joke. But now that he knew her better, he realized just how often she was messing with him and he loved it. He felt like he had passed some kind of friendship test. She felt close enough to him that she could poke fun, and he could mess with her equally as much. It was huge progress from where they had started, with him drooling over her, and her ignoring him. She still got angry with him sometimes, without him entirely knowing the reason why, but he already knew he was an idiot, so it was no surprise when he messed things up with her repeatedly.

“I can manage in the front,” he responded with a chuckle.

“Okay, if you say so, but don’t come crying to me when you break your back. I’m not giving you a massage,” she told him as she attempted to fluff her lumpy old pillow.

Percy tried ignoring the images that flashed through his mind of Annabeth sitting on top of him on a bed, kneading his back muscles with her hands. If he allowed those thoughts to take over then they just inevitably took him to even dirtier places, and it made him feel guilty. She was a person, a friend, and just because he found her insanely attractive, didn’t give him the right to sexualize her. His mom had taught him to respect women, but sometimes Annabeth made it really fucking hard not to think of her in that way. Sometimes she would lean towards him while they were studying, and he had to use all of his will power to keep his eyes trained on the paper. And when she got close, he could smell her lemon shampoo which just seemed to take over his senses, and how could someone smell that good, all the time? Or sometimes while they were training, when she looked extra powerful and graceful, he couldn’t stop his wandering gaze from staring appreciatively at her long legs, and ahem, her ass. He couldn’t help that his eyes sometimes flickered there from time to time, she had been training basically her whole life, and she was literally built like every one of Percy’s wildest fantasy. And her lips, gods her lips should be illegal. They looked so inviting and soft, and he just needed to know what they tasted like. Really, he’d like to know what all of her tasted like. 

He shook his head, he felt like an asshole. This was why he needed to stop these thoughts before they could take root in his mind, because they escalated much to quickly for him to stop them before his pants started getting tight, and he began feeling guilty.

He could somewhat control his conscious thoughts, but unfortunately, his dreams didn’t seem to share the same moral values. More often than not, his mind drifted to Annabeth when he was asleep, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. A lot of the time, it was mostly innocent. He pictured what it would be like to hold her hand, or cuddle together watching a movie, or proudly introduce her to his mom as his ‘girlfriend,’ stuff like that. But sometimes, his dreams got out of hand, he imagined her beneath him, on top of him, in front of him, pressed against him, and almost every other conceivable way. It made it hard to face her in the mornings, he just felt like such a creep. He couldn’t help it, he wanted to know her, all of her. He wanted to know her mind and her deepest secrets, and he wanted to know her physically. He wanted to explore her body and show her just how much he appreciated her. He wanted to show her how beautiful he thought she was. He wanted to know how it felt to be inside her and what she felt wrapped around him and… okay stop.

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, before flopping down on his seat and pulling the thin blanket up to his chin. 

He realized he never responded to her, so he said a quick goodnight and turned his back to her. Looking at her would only make things worse. He needed to find something else to occupy his mind while he drifted off to sleep. He thought of blue food, pancakes and cookies, he thought of Grover and the quest, Annabeth, and he thought of sword fighting, and his mom, and Annabeth, and his stepdad Paul, and his birth father Poseidon, and Annabeth, and the Gods, and how they might be tampering with their journey, and of course Annabeth, and also Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth, his thoughts always returned to her. Annabeth.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reception on the last chapter made me so happy. Once again, I am so appreciative of the comments and kudos, so keep them coming. I really love hearing your thoughts and input.
> 
> Let me know if you enjoyed Percy's POV last chapter, I may add more from his perspective if you all enjoyed.
> 
> Thanks for reading.

At noon on the dot, they finally arrived. As soon as they entered into California, they found the nearest motel and dropped off their bags and supplies. They also took the opportunity to freshen up after what felt like months, without a shower. Annabeth had the courtesy to bring her clothes with her into the bathroom, but stupid Percy and his perfect body, ‘forgot his clothes on the bed,’ or so he claimed, so she was subjected once again to a slow and painful torture as she attempted to avert her eyes from his towel-clad and dripping wet form. The only way to avoid getting utterly distracted and completely derailed by him and his unfairly attractive torso, was to focus her entire energy on the quest at hand, so she was quick to usher them back into the van not even an hour later. Percy drove, following her directions, as she traced her finger over the large ‘X’ that Chiron had drawn on the map. Finally, they made it to their destination.

“I’m pretty sure this is the place,” she told Percy, looking up at the building in front of them.

“A museum? Why would Grover go missing here?” he questioned.

“I have no idea,” she responded, completely at a loss.

“I doubt he’s just chilling in there, looking at art exhibits,” he said.

“I agree. Maybe there’s a basement or something? Maybe this is a front for criminal activity, I don’t know,” she voiced exasperatedly, she didn’t like not knowing things.

“It’s a very weird place for a front,” Percy wondered curiously. “How about I go around to the back and try to find a basement or secret entrance and you go through the museum and see if there’s any sign of Grover inside,” he suggested.

She bit her lip nervously, “I don’t like the idea of splitting up. That’s like best way of getting killed.”

“It always worked out in Scooby Doo,” he answered with a cheeky smile.

“Well Fred was an idiot to suggest that all the time, and that show wasn’t exactly the blueprint for good detective work,” she responded.

Percy laughed and they turned back to face the building again.

She sighed, “if we do it your way, you better not get yourself killed or I’m going to be really pissed.”

Percy’s plan was probably they’re best option, but she was terrified. What if this is where he got killed, like the prophecy had said. She hadn’t admitted her feelings to him, so it was a real possibility. If anything happened to him, it would be entirely her fault.

“I promise to come back alive,” he said with a wide grin. “As long as you promise to do the same.”

“I’ll do my best,” she told him. “You should take my invisibility cap, it can help with your snooping. I won’t need it if I’m just walking through the museum.”

He began shaking his head, “no, Annabeth, it’s equally dangerous for both of us. I can’t take this.”

She shut her eyes, “please Percy, just take it okay. This is non-negotiable.”

He hesitated and then took the hat from her hands, “thank you,” he said quietly.

It wouldn’t guarantee anything, but she felt a little better knowing that at least he had something to help hide him. Something to keep him a little safer.

They opened their doors to the van and got out, making their way around to the front of the vehicle, near the hood.

Percy stuck out his hand, “good luck partner.”

She ignored the hand and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for a tight hug. She’s not entirely sure what compelled her to do it, but she just knew she needed to feel his warmth against her, strong and reassuring. She wasn’t normally so touchy and needy, but she was scared, and she just wanted an excuse to hold him at least one more time. He squeezed her back just as fiercely. Even after everything they had gone through, even though this wasn’t their first hug, butterflies still swarmed in her stomach. She was pretty sure Percy would never stop making her feel nervous and excited. 

She had to tell him how she felt, she decided, he deserved to know. It may be the only thing that could save his life right now. And if it’s the last time they see each other, she’d rather have a clear conscience, all her secrets out in the open. She was going to tell him.

She pulled back, but kept her arms around his broad shoulders, while his hands remained rested on her waist, tracing small little shapes, that caused goosebumps to spread across her skin.

She looked down and took a shaky breath, her heart beating right out of her chest, “look Percy, I, um, I have to tell you something.”

She glanced back into his green eyes, his face open and trusting and her confidence just crumbled. Why couldn’t she just say it, she screamed in her head. Just do it! But she didn’t.   
Instead, she cleared her throat and took a step back. She thought she saw his face fall a little, but he quickly recovered and put on a happy smile.

“Um, good luck and be careful okay, Seaweed Brain,” she tried.

He grinned softly and nodded, “thanks. You be careful too, Wise Girl.”

They stared into each other’s faces for probably a moment too long before jerkily turning in opposite directions. She sped towards the entrance of the museum, trying her hardest not to look back at Percy. 

When she reached the large front entrance, with beautiful, ornate doors, she was stopped by a middle-aged woman

“Oh, I’m sorry, we’re actually just closing up, but I can book you for a tour for tomorrow,” the lady with frizzy, dead hair, said in a sickly-sweet tone.

Annabeth looked down at her watch, it was only 2 pm.

“You close this early?” she asked.

“We close early on Sunday’s, but we’re open until 6pm on weekdays, so you’re welcome to return then,” the tour guide explained.

Annabeth sighed; it would be a complete waste of their time if she headed back to the van now. But Percy was already trying to find another way in, there was no reason for her to try breaking in as well. Maybe she could at least get some answers out of this lady.

“Is this just a museum, or is there anything else attached to the building? Like a basement, or a private wing,” she questioned.

“It’s just a museum. One that you can tour tomorrow. Would you like me to put you down for a private tour?” the lady asked, clearly trying to usher Annabeth away.

“Are you the one giving the tours?” she continued, ignoring the guide’s wishes to get rid of her.

“I do some of them, although we have an excellent staff aside from myself. Any one of them will be able to take care of you tomorrow,” the lady tried again.

“Did you give any tours to a boy, last week? He probably looks about 15 years old, with curly hair. He has a limp,” Annabeth continued to ask.

The tour guide huffed, “I give countless tours each day, so I couldn’t possibly remember every person that has come through here. Now, would you like me to write you down for a tour tomorrow? Perhaps for the same time.”

Annabeth finally conceded, “okay um, sure, yeah, I’ll take a tour. What kind of exhibits are there?”

The tour guide smiled for the first time, looking relieved that Annabeth finally agreed to leave. 

“We have several exhibits from numerous different eras and cultures, like Roman, Italian, French, Greek,” Annabeth’s ears perked up, “and more. One of our most popular exhibits right now is ‘Lovers Through Time,’ in which we display paintings, sculptures, architecture focused on the most famous romances throughout history. Romeo and Juliet, Adam and Eve, Paris and Helen, you get the picture. We feature famous figures like Aphrodite and Cupid, it is truly wonderful. It’s a great exhibit for couples, so feel free to bring a guest. A boyfriend, maybe,” the guide finished.

Annabeth couldn’t say for sure, but it didn’t sound like a complete coincidence that such Greek influences would be present in the very place that Grover was last heard from. Perhaps this museum had something to do with the meddling gods mentioned in the prophecy. She had to return tomorrow and take that tour, maybe she could learn something.

“That sounds amazing. I will certainly be back tomorrow to check that out,” she told the lady, with feigned enthusiasm.

“Perfect! I will jot you down for the 2:30 pm slot, what is your name?” the tour guide asked.

“Anna…” she paused, she didn’t know if she could trust this woman, especially if this museum was up to something. “Um, Anna Jackson,” she finished, thinking on the fly. She cringed at the name and prayed that Percy never ever found out about this. 

“Alright, I have you written down. Bring your boyfriend if you’d like and don’t be late,” the lady told her and then spun back towards the building.

“Thank you,” she called after the rapidly retreating tour guide and then she headed down the stairs.

Annabeth walked back towards the van and leaned against the side. At least she had some sort of lead, but it really wasn’t much to go on. Unless Percy found something, today was basically a bust. How had she managed to accomplish so little? 

She waited for him, tapping her finger impatiently against her thigh. She knew he would probably be fine; he was extremely powerful and clever when he had to be, but she couldn’t help but worry, nonetheless. The prophecy sat in the back of her mind like a constant nagging buzz that she could not ignore. 

Almost two hours passed, and she was practically a wreck, pacing back and forth across the lawn. She worried that she might miss his return, if she went looking for him now. She chewed on her lip and finally decided she should just go after him, when Percy suddenly rounded the corner, her Yankees cap in hand and a huge grin on his face like he hadn’t just been M.I.A for hours.

She breathed a sigh of relief and tried to calm her racing heart. “Where the hell have you been?” she exclaimed as he approached.

He smiled, “happy to see me Chase?”

“I don’t care about you, I just want my hat,” she joked and snatched her cap from his hands, trying not to show the utter fear and desperation that had been plaguing her the last few hours, in her face.

“You wound me,” he laughed. “So, did you find anything?”

“The museum was just closing up when I got there, but they booked me for a tour tomorrow. There’s a lot of Greek exhibits and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I think someone brought or lured Grover here, maybe as a message, I’m not sure,” she explained. “What about you? Any luck?”

“I walked all around the perimeter of the building, checking for any doors. Most of them just led into the building, but I found one locked. It didn’t look like the others, it was older, covered in symbols and Greek words. I couldn’t get in, I tried, but if we come back tomorrow, you can use that genius brain of yours to find a way through it,” he told her.

She raised her eyebrows, he had definitely achieved more than she had today, “I’m impressed Seaweed Brain.”

He grinned happily and her knees went a little weak as usual. “Thank you,” he answered while brushing off his shoulders in teasing boastfulness. “Do you want to grab some dinner? It’s almost 5pm and we haven’t eaten anything since this morning. We deserve to celebrate,” he claimed.

As he said it, Annabeth realized just how hungry was. “What are we celebrating? We haven’t even done anything yet,” she laughed.

“We made it all the way down to California, I think that’s pretty impressive,” he responded.

She rolled her eyes much too fondly, “alright, let’s go.”

He bounced happily on the balls of his feet and clapped his hands and it was just entirely too sweet for her to watch, so she turned her eyes towards the van.

“Shall we?” she continued.

He nodded and they hopped back into the vehicle. 

Percy drove them back to the motel so they could change into more comfortable clothing, and then they walked a few blocks to a cute little 24-hour diner they had noticed on their way to the museum. 

They sat across from each other and ordered an inordinate amount of food. She got a coffee and the full breakfast special, which included eggs, toast and sausages. Percy got a blueberry milkshake, a huge stack of pancakes, waffles, fruit, hash browns and bacon, while also stealing some of her food as well. He claimed it was because he was “a growing boy, Annabeth.” How he ate it all was an absolute mystery to her, especially considering how fit he was; it really wasn’t fair. 

They were both starving so they didn’t do much talking, too busy stuffing their mouths full, but she couldn’t help noticing how much this felt like a date. She tried to ignore it and just enjoy their meal, but her cheeks burned at the idea. She kind of wished this were a date. She wished that they could go on a real one when they got back to New York. Maybe they would sit in the same booth together, sidled against each other, her head resting on his strong shoulder, hearing the rumble of his laughter against her face. Or maybe they would sit in the same position they were in now, except their hands would be clasped together across the table, Percy mindlessly rubbing small circles on her palm while they chatted about anything and everything. She pushed the thought from her mind, she couldn’t keep getting distracted by these fantasies, when they had a quest to worry about. Grover and two very scared, young demigods needed saving.

They paid the waiter when they finished eating and stepped out onto the street. It was already pretty dark out, she guessed around 7 pm now. They walked slowly side by side through a quiet alleyway, not in any rush to get back to the motel just yet. She assumed most people were in their homes already by now, having their family dinner.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Percy started nervously.

“Was that hard for you?” she interrupted with a smirk, although this time when she said it, the circumstances were vastly different from the last time.

He gave her a small chuckle and then continued, “I was just thinking about which one of us should take the tour through the museum tomorrow. If you’re right about it being a front for the gods, then it’s going to be dangerous.”

She stopped abruptly, “well obviously it should be me, I was the one who booked it.”

He responded, “but maybe I should go, and then you can use the invisibility cap…”

She cut him off, “and what? Wait around while you do all the work?” she asked angrily.

“No! Of course not. That’s not what I was going to say, I just thought you would have a better chance of finding a way to get through that door that I found. I can walk around a museum, but I can’t outsmart godly barriers, like you can,” he explained imploringly.

She softened slightly, but the tension remained in her shoulders. She didn’t want Percy risking his life any more than he already was, not with the prophecy hanging over them. 

“No, it has to be me,” she stated firmly.

“Why?” he asked with furrowed brows.

She could see that he was starting to get frustrated as well.

“Because… Because I gave the tour guide a female name, so they’ll be expecting me,” she argued lamely.

Percy rolled his eyes at her, a habit he was clearly picking up from Annabeth. “Are you serious? That is not a good enough reason.” He narrowed his eyes at her like he was trying to see into her mind.

She huffed and began walking again, not knowing how to respond, but he followed quickly after her. “There’s something you’re not telling me. Why don’t you want me to be the one to go?” he continued to pry.

She kept her pace, not daring to look back at him. “I’m not hiding anything,” she lied.

“Yes, you are!” he insisted.

“Just drop it, Percy,” she shot back angrily.

“I want to know,” his voice getting louder.

“It’s nothing,” she huffed again.

“Tell me. Why don’t you want me going?” he shouted.

She spun abruptly on her heel to face him. “Because you’ll die!” she screamed at him. 

Oh shit, she hadn’t meant to let that slip out.

He skidded to a halt and stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Never mind,” she mumbled quietly.

“How could you know that?” he continued.

“The prophecy,” she whispered.

“What do you mean? What about the prophecy?” he questioned.

She sighed and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She had come this far; she might as well just tell him the truth.

“I didn’t tell you the whole prophecy. There is a line that says that you will perish,” she admitted.

Percy sucked in a breath. “What was the line?” he asked, his voice shaky.

“That’s not important, what’s important is that you have to be careful. You have to stay out of danger, or you will die!” she insisted.

“Why wouldn’t you just tell me this?” he questioned, his eyes hard.

“Because I knew you would insist on coming anyway,” she responded. 

“How could you possibly know that?” he questioned angrily.

“Because you’re an idiot and you’re brave, and you don’t care about what happens to you as long as your friends are safe,” she yelled.

“You’ve been making decisions on my behalf without even asking how I feel, that’s not fair,” he shouted.

“Well prophecy or not, I should still be the one to go through the museum!” she screamed.

He didn’t answer right away, his chest heaving while his face flitted through various emotions, like he couldn’t decide which to go with. Finally, he looked down at the pavement and muttered quietly, “you’re right,” his anger falling away.

“What?” she said in shock.

She was angry at the situation and taking her frustration out on him as usual, but she had not anticipated this. Percy was the one that should be angry, and she should be the one apologizing. This was not how she had expected him to react to finding out that she had been lying to him, and that he might die. It was just another reason that he was too nice, too good, too caring for her. The moron was far too pure for this world, it didn’t deserve people like him.

“You’re right, I would’ve come anyway,” he agreed. “I already know where that door is, so it makes sense for me to be the one to go back to it, while you take the tour. And you’re the genius architect, so you’ll have an easier time chatting up the tour guide and finding your way around to search for Grover,” he explained, still not looking at her.

She felt like she had been punched in the gut. “What did you say?” she asked dumbly.

“Which part?” he questioned, confused. He actually looked quite adorable she noted in the back of her mind, but she was too preoccupied to really pay attention to the soft scrunch of his eyebrows.

“What did you call me?” she asked him breathlessly.

“Genius architect, I think,” he repeated, still looking lost.

She stared at him in a daze. The way he said it, like it was an absolute fact. Like there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that she was in fact an architect. He didn’t question her choices; he didn’t wonder whether it was a good idea. He didn’t doubt that she could do it. He had complete and utter faith in her. Percy believed in her like no one ever had before in her life.

She was still breathing heavily, and her pulse raced from their shouting match. Her self-restraint was at an all-time low. She simply didn’t care about future consequences or possible risks anymore, she wanted to live in this moment, right now. And what better way to finally tell him the full truth.

“Fuck it,” she mumbled, and she raced towards him, crashing her lips to his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a bit of a cliff hanger, :)


End file.
